New at Airventure 2026 Zenith debuted the Super Cruzer.
https://zenithair.net/zenith-ch-750-super-cruzer
Out of all the aircraft offerings out there, the 750 Super platform looks like one of the best way’s to go from what I can see, here are the factors in the equation:
- New aircraft with decent payload capacity, think PA-28’s C-172’s are now past 1/2 Million, the Cirrus and Diamon options are in the 1 million range = total fantasy and disconnected from the “common man”
- The “affordable” certified Cessna and Piper options are now 50 – 70 years old, many with a 6 figure price tag with lots of training fleet wear and tear and recent FAA mandated spar corrosion inspections that can total the air worthness of the wings in one test. part of the higher corrosion issue is the use of 2024 aluminum, the standard of the industry but the copper alloying element is very prone to corrosion, requires protective coatings from the start, maintenance of that coating and as is becoming more evident no air frame material is immortal, so the “just by certified” token advise has some holes in it.
- The next angle is the stability of the company behind the aircraft for parts & engineering support. Piper actually went bankrupt and shut down the factory in the mid 90’s, Cessna turned the ship to focus on corporate aviation at the same time.
- On the home built side the gold standard was Van’s RV, like a Dewalt tool nothing bad was allowed to be said about them. They make a great product, lots of confidence in the design BUT…………. taking the post Covid hit’s in 2023 they went into chapter 11 bankruptcy, fortunately they are still in business after the restructuring. Following not far behind them was Sonex, that also makes one good plane, skipping the chapter 11 option they where a few weeks away from a chapter 7 event and where saved at the last minute.
- When it comes to the kit plane market metal aircraft have traditionally been better at re-sale compared to composites or tube and fabric
- General materials vs the environment, wood and fabric rot quickly, composites can be more difficult to detect damage and must be protected against UV light.
- Getting a kit plane finished, plans aircraft turn into a long drawn out event, super complex aircraft are the enemy of schedule and budget.
- So far nock on wood Zenith has been “Cruzing” slow and steady past all of this, no one is immune but all totaled is a confidence indicator when spending tens of thousands on just the kit.
Based on the 750 Super Duty STOL champ with different wings and flight control surfaces. Its the same idea as the smaller lower power 750 to 750 cruiser that came out in 2013 The 70x platform has been out since 1986 giving a 40 year legacy. Modern Zenith kits feature 6061 aluminum construction with CAD & CNC matched hole construction.
Back at Airventure 2014 the EAA hosted a one week build of the smaller Cruiser = https://www.eaa.org/airventure/features-and-attractions/aircraft-areas/homebuilt-airplanes-area/eaa-airventure-oshkosh-one-week-wonder/oww-2014
the array of 70x options can seem a bit confusing but it comes down to engine size and useful load:
Original 701 designed for a 50 HP Rotax 503 & 960 lbs gross, the later SP option added fuel & a 1100 gross
STOL 750 came out at Airventure 2008, designed for the light sport rule with a 1320 gross and much more common 100 ish HP engines including the o-200, Corvair, Rotax 9xx, Jabiru and others
750 Cruzer came out at Sun n Fun 2013 and was the first de-STOL-ing of the platform with the removal of the fixed slats, a conventional vertical stab and symmetric horizontal stab.
750 Super Duty was up sized and modernized to allow for 180 ish HP engines focusing in on the O-360
750 Super Cruzer does the same de-STOL-ing treatment with the same engine and fuselage.
There was a larger 4 seat version called the 801 that is no longer in production.
Recent Reviews:
I first found out about new 750 Super Cruzer on the Kitplane Enthusiast YouTube Channel (the video is blocked from embedding) but is worth checking out.
No RC options I could find
