First Flight: Flying the new Zenith CH 650 with UL Power's UL350iS engine

Sweet flyer! Today we had the chance to fly our new Zodiac CH650 B kit airplane with the brand new 130-hp ULPower engine. This new generation light aircraft powerplant is a direct drive, air cooled four cylinder engine with full FADEC control (electronic ignition, fuel injection, etc.) which is lighter and much more efficient than other engines in its class. On the instrument panel, we're using Dynon's SkyView glass panel display system.
Next we'll be fine tuning the firewall-forward package and the fiberglass cowl, (and painting it), as well as adding cool striping to the airframe. We'll report on the performance, characteristics and figures shortly.
Details on the plane: http://www.zenithair.com/zodiac/ch650/
Details on the engine: http://www.ulpower.net
Details on the panel: http://www.dynonavionics.com/

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[PeeTank]

I am curious as to what are the controls you are holding your left hand on?

[zenithairco]

@PeeTank - There's a standard "push" throttle on the left. Above it is the electric flap switch. To the right of the throttle is the elevator trim.

[WendyGalwayCooper]

Hi

How do the ULPower 260 and 350 engines compare with the Viking 110 and Jabiru 3300 in relation to:

1 Performance (take off, rate of climb and cruise);

2 Fuel efficiency (at the same air speeds)

3 Noise, vibration and refinement

Which motor is your first choice to fly behind and why?

[zenithairco]

@WendyGalwayCooper

We have not had the chance to install and evaluate the Honda Fit based Viking engine so we cannot provide an accurate comparison. We do have a lot of experience with the Jabiru 3300 engine so we do plan to offer comparison figures, and we also look forward to trying out the smaller UL260i engine.

Which is our first choice and which do we fly behind? Well, we've decided to install the UL350iS in our new demo CH650 airplane and we look forward to flying behind it a lot!

[ward1969]

Zenith - do you have a timeframe for publishing performance data including fuel consumption? Is this a fit for the 750?

[zenithairco]

@ward1969 we'll be posting details on performance shortly as we put time on the plane. Our initial impression is very positive.

The CH 650 and the CH 750 have identical firewalls so it will fit the high wing CH 750 with very few changes :)

[stolflyer]

Very short and impressive takeoff roll at 3:18

[offertrunk]

I really am torn between the 650 and 750. STOL performance isn't of concern to me as I have access to many mid/large runways. The 650 sure is sleek and sexy, while the 750 is practical. Can anyone sway me?

[ULPowerNA]

Congratulations Zenith! It appears that many Zenith owners and builders are very interested in our line of new engines.

[ULPowerNA]

@ukpylot

Hey, different planes for different folks. Both are beautiful in their own way, especially with UL Power!

[apairon2]

is it possible to switch to the duel stick after completing the plane? im looking into learning how to fly and all the costs that come with it and i want to save some money. the Y stick looks like it would be annoying for me but i could get used to it. currently out of all the kit planes iv looked at the ch 750 is what iv settled on if im able to get my sports license

[kazakhpilot]

Very nice - it is outstanding.