Savannah or CH701?

Howdy,

I'm about to buy a kit. I like the Zenith CH701 and the ICP Savannah. Both
companies have been around for quite a long time, and both planes perform
fairly similar except the CH701 climbs a little faster, and cruises a little
slower.

Differences that I have noticed besides the above performance include:

The Savannah is quicker to build because of many more predrilled holes.

The Savannah has more press formed parts for a slightly more professional
look.

The Zenith has a wider main wheel track width which should improve ground
handling.

The Savannah has brake-formed fuselage side panels that should prevent the
drumming of the Zenith.

I think the Zenith has larger tires for better ground handling in the rough.


Does anyone else have other information that would tend to sway a decision one
way or the other? An anxious mind wants to know.

thanks,
tom pettit

I asked pretty much the same question a few days ago and
received a detailed email from Veedubber with his thoughts
on the subject. I strongly suggest you ask him this
question... The answer should make your decision much
easier..

John Ammeter

On Sun, 23 May 2004 18:23:24 GMT, wrote:

Howdy,

I'm about to buy a kit. I like the Zenith CH701 and the ICP Savannah. Both
companies have been around for quite a long time, and both planes perform
fairly similar except the CH701 climbs a little faster, and cruises a little
slower.

Differences that I have noticed besides the above performance include:

The Savannah is quicker to build because of many more predrilled holes.

The Savannah has more press formed parts for a slightly more professional
look.

The Zenith has a wider main wheel track width which should improve ground
handling.

The Savannah has brake-formed fuselage side panels that should prevent the
drumming of the Zenith.

I think the Zenith has larger tires for better ground handling in the rough.


Does anyone else have other information that would tend to sway a decision one
way or the other? An anxious mind wants to know.

thanks,
tom pettit

why not post his reply, or part thereof, here?

----------------------------------------------------

Because it does not apply.

Mr. Petit sought comparitive information between two KITS. John sought
information from anyone having a CH-701, which I took to include me since I am
building one.

But I am doing so from scratch.

When building from scratch the assembly of the parts is anticlimactic, taking
but little time and far less skill than making the tooling to fabricate those
parts from raw materials. Building from scratch also brings to light numerous
errors in the drawings of which the kit assembler is never aware. If they do
notice that a dimension varies from one page to another they will usually be
told not to worry about it, that it's correct IN THE KIT. Which of course is
meaningless to someone building from scratch :-)

I responded to John privately because most subscribers to this Newsgroup appear
to be more interested in its social context.

If you are planning to assemble a kit you will find several mailing lists
devoted to that sort of thing. Any question regarding errors, omissions or
conflicts IN YOUR KIT should be addressed to the factory.

If you are building a CH-701 from scratch then we may have some reason to
exchange information.

-R.S.Hoover

We had a test done recently at our airport by a professional pilot who
does magazine articles, he liked the Savannah more than the 701. I had
no real interest in it but he just said "it flew better"....

Thanks Michael

Veeduber wrote:
why not post his reply, or part thereof, here?


----------------------------------------------------

Because it does not apply.

Mr. Petit sought comparitive information between two KITS. John sought
information from anyone having a CH-701, which I took to include me since I am
building one.

But I am doing so from scratch.

When building from scratch the assembly of the parts is anticlimactic, taking
but little time and far less skill than making the tooling to fabricate those
parts from raw materials. Building from scratch also brings to light numerous
errors in the drawings of which the kit assembler is never aware. If they do
notice that a dimension varies from one page to another they will usually be
told not to worry about it, that it's correct IN THE KIT. Which of course is
meaningless to someone building from scratch :-)

I responded to John privately because most subscribers to this Newsgroup appear
to be more interested in its social context.

If you are planning to assemble a kit you will find several mailing lists
devoted to that sort of thing. Any question regarding errors, omissions or
conflicts IN YOUR KIT should be addressed to the factory.

If you are building a CH-701 from scratch then we may have some reason to
exchange information.

-R.S.Hoover