April 18, 1997, GENERAL AVIATION NEWS & FLYER

Zenith says twin kit almost ready, CH 2000 producion improving
By KIRK GORMLEY

LAKELAND, Florida - With 300 hours on the airframe and Sun'n Fun calling, Zenith Aircraft Company figured it was time to put some color into the Gemini CH 620, its all-metal twin-engine kitplane that's based on the single engine Zodiac CH 601.

Mission accomplished.  In fact, resplendent in two week-old bright red paint and yellow pin striping, the prototype in the Zenith display area was referred to by one bystander as a "Baby Baron."
"There's still a couple of little things we want to spend some time on, but essentially we're happy with the way it is," spokesman Sebastien Heintz said of Zenith's first and, so far, only Gemini.  "It basically flies the way we want it to fly."

The aircraft, which made its maiden flight last July 15, needs some refinements on its retraction-gear system and some cosmetic work on fiberglass parts such as the fin.

"These development projects always take longer than you anticipate, but it's coming along really quite well," Heintz said.

The two four-cycle Jabiru 2200 engines have performed well, but Zenith is still looking for in-flight-adjustable, full-feathering props.  "But I don't know how realistic that is for a little 8O-horsepower engine and spending $5,000 for a prop," Heintz said.  "Our whole philosophy in putting this together was building a twin-engine aircraft for the same price as a single-engine plane."

That would be about $40,000 - $19,950 for the kit and $20,000 more for the ready-to mount engines and instruments package.

Zenith had its full line of aircraft on display at Sun In Fun.  In addition to the Gemini, the company brought in the 140-mph two-seat Zodiac, the utilitarian STOL CH 701 and the production-built CH 2000 trainer.

Heintz said Zenith has built and shipped 60 CH 2000 trainers from its 30-employee production facility in Midland, Ontario.  Sixty isn't exactly Cessna-esque, but the company is intent on not over-extending itself.

"Every week we get a little more efficient and a little more production-oriented," Heintz said.  "We're taking it one step at a time.  We're spending a lot of time keeping our existing customers happy and really building on that.  A lot of our sales are to the same schools that want a second and a third plane.  That's the type of marketing that we want to build on."

Like the Gemini, the CH 2000 is all-metal. The factory figures say it'll get over a 50-foot obstacle on takeoff in 1,530 feet and reverse the deed on landing in 1,300 feet. Forward of the firewall are a 116-horsepower Lycoming 0-235-N2C and a 72-inch, fixed-pitch metal Sensenitch prop. The aircraft's 28-gallon fuel capacity sips away at 6.0 gallons per hour.

A new IFR-certified model includes a full Bendix/King avionics package, which includes one audio control package with marker beacon KMA-24A, KX-155 nav/comm with KI-209 glideslope, KN62 DME, KT-76A encoder and PSI 00011 intercom.

The base price on the standard CH 2000 is $69,900, and the IFR model is yours for $85,900.

Heintz said you'd have to wait until December for your CH 2000 if you were to order one at Sun In Fun. Current production rate is "just over 30 a year," which isn't exactly setting the industry on its ear.

"We're not ready to sell more," Heintz said. "We funded all this ourselves. We don't have any outside investors in this project, so it's not like all of a sudden we can whip out a 200,000-square-foot production facility. On the marketing side, we're keeping very low key. Long-term, it allows us to build up on the product rather than come out full force with a product that hasn't been proven and then finding our problems later on down the road.

"It's not designed to revolutionize anything. It's designed more as a low-cost effective basic trainer replacement aircraft. On the marketing side, we're building up on that momentum. Practically all our individual sales have been from people who have trained on the aircraft. They really like the airplane and it's the type of aircraft that they want to continue with."
For those with the time to build an airplane and a hankering to fly a low-cost twin, the Gemini is the only act in town. Build time is expected to be 700-800 hours, and Zenith will begin shipping tail kits from its Mexico, Missouri, facility in May.  Complete kits should start arriving on customer's doorsteps shortly after Oshkosh.  Heintz described the current backlog as "twenty-something" orders.

"It's a specialized market," he said, "but from the interest we've seen, there isn't any reason we shouldn't be shipping 50 to 100 units per year.  People are always looking for something new and exciting.  It seems that composites have been done, and in terms of doing something new, a twin-engine for many people is a logical step.

"On the piloting side, you're taking on a new challenge, and the new pilot is always looking for new challenges and new projects.  Getting a twin rating certainly isn't a big chore, but for some pilots it's not a valuable rating to have because they can't afford to rent.  For an aircraft like this, burning eight gallons of car gas an for a twin-engine aircraft is pretty well unheard of."

Because there is nothing like it on the market, some of the first buyers have teams lined up to get the first owner-built Geminis in the sky in a hurry.

"I think six months from delivery you could probably see them in the air," Heintz said.  "Optimistically, by early '98."

Would that include next year's Sun 'n Fun?

"Hopefully, if they're not all out island hopping."

For further information on Zenith's line of aircraft, contact the company at Mexico Memorial Airport, POBox 540, Mexico, MO 65265-0650; 
phone: 573-581-9000; fax: 573-581-0011.

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