The other posters are right on about knowing what you want to do with plane.
One option not mentioned, though, is to use the Dedalius wing designed for the
701 that does "morph". It is a kit that you can build instead of the Zenith
wing. It has passive retractable slats, so it cleans up somewhat in normal
flight, and according to Dedalius, it will cruise 20% faster than the stock
Zenith, while maintaining the STOL characteristics. The cost to build this
wing over the Zenith is about $2000. The Dedalius site is:

http://www.dedaliusaviation.com/newdedalius/anglais.htm

Happy trails,
tom pettit


I am thinking about building either a Zenith CH 601 or CH 701.Initially I was
only looking at the 701 because of looks, its STOL capability, its high wing,
because of its squared off design I believe it should be easier to build.
Drawbacks of the 701 range and fuel consumption, increased drag. Anyone out
there have any experience with having to choose between these two? I am
thinking the CH 701 would be fun to fly around in but it looks as if it might
be as slow as a car on the interstate flying cross-country