Zenith 600 series – Aircraft of the Month

/ Spencer Gould

This aircraft of the month is the Zenith 600 series. It’s a 2 seat, low wing, all metal kitplane with several power options.

I first encountered the 600 series when I was part of the Fly Corvair hanger gang. William was developing the Corvair based fire wall forward package for the aircraft. If your looking for a 100 – 120 hp opposing 6 cylinder direct drive butter smooth power plant with excellent parts availability I would highly recommend checking out https://flycorvair.net/ & https://www.youtube.com/@WWFlycorvair

To see some specific 600 series / Corvair builds check out https://flycorvair.net/2013/10/31/16-flying-corvair-powered-zenith-601-650s/

The 601 I got to fly had excellent handling qualities and good power with the base 2700 / 0-164 Corvair power plant.

First flight was back in 1984 and designed by Chris Heintz & Avions Pierre. I got to attend a few of Chris’s forums at Airventure & Sun-N-Fun, he was a very skilled Engineer.

EAA coverage = https://www.eaa.org/eaa/aircraft-building/kits-and-plans/t—z/zodiac-ch600-and-ch601

Latest iteration is the CH650, kit info, pricing & other resources can be found at: https://zenithair.net/introduction-ch650/

The modern kits feature CNC matched hole assembly along with pull rivets makes for quick, straight forward assembly.

It’s quite the popular series of kits so there is a bunch of YouTube videos on it.

No real hits for RC model options or Merch beyond what would be on the Zenith main site.

Arrow RC Seaplane Flight

/ Spencer Gould

Digging through the archives from the 2000s, I found this classic flight footage of my scratch-built Arrow Seaplane.

Designed by the legendary Laddie Mikulasko (the mastermind behind the iconic Northstar), the Arrow is an incredible performer on both water and in the air. This particular build featured a slightly modified nose and a standout Monokote finish.

If you want to build your own, the original RCM magazine might be gone, but the legacy lives on! Check out the free plan links below.

🛠️ Build Specs & Setup

  • Design: Arrow Seaplane (RCM Plan #1335, July 2004)
  • Designer: Laddie Mikulasko
  • Powerplant: K&B .65 Sportster (Lightweight & reliable)
  • Radio Control: Futaba 9CAPS
  • Finish: Purple, Gold, Platinum, and Chrome Monokote

📂 Free Plans & Resources

✈️ Join the Gould Aero Community

Thanks for watching! If you love classic RC builds, aviation history, and project deep-dives, make sure to Like and Subscribe to the channel.

🌐 Check out our main website for more aviation content: https://gouldaero.com/

#RCPlanes #Seaplane #ScratchBuilt #LaddieMikulasko #RCAirplane #VintageRC #GouldAero #Outerzone #FutabaRC

Some Pictures of the build:

Amazon Fire Stick Select, Know Before You Buy!!!

/ Spencer Gould

Upgrade to the Max: Skip the lag. The Fire TV Stick 4K Max is well worth the extra cash ➡️ https://amzn.to/49BZWjI

Official Website: Read our full tech, aviation, and auto deep dives ➡️ https://gouldaero.com/

#FireTVStick #FireStickSelect #TechReview #FireStick4KMax #StreamingDevices #AmazonFireStick #GouldAero #TechReviews

RC Bookcase – A ton of rc aircraft content

/ Spencer Gould

I stumbled upon an amazing web site for anyone who is interested in vintage RC aircraft magazines and catalogs available for free pdf downloads called https://rcbookcase.com/

They do have a donate link that could be well worth it to any Aviation Philantropy people out there

I subscribed to RCM From 1993 to its end in 2006 so it’s amazing to see all the high quality scans,

Many other magazines and even catalogs are available.

I can’t thank the curators enough for keeping this historical content alive on this web site, Outerzone, Buzz Sharpy on Face Book, and others.

Ennis House Tile 3D print aka Blade Runner

/ Spencer Gould

Much thanks to Thingiverse user Keenan for the .stl file https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:45567

This 11.5″ in x & y print shows off the Creality K2 Plus capability, over all print took around 6 hours with mostly stock settings.

Full review of my K2 at: https://gouldaero.com/2025/11/29/crea…

Buy on Amazon = https://amzn.to/4or7YR1

I may use it as a master for a silicone mold to make light weight concrete copies from

The pattern / tile and block was used in the Ennis house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1924, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ennis_H…

The house and notably the pattern has been shown in several movies including Blade Runner, The Rocketeer, House on Haunted Hill & The 13th Floor to name a few.

Out of all five Mayan Revival houses FLW built the Ennis house is by far the most memorable, a true icon in the Archetecture world.

A few photos of the Ennis house and movies that used it or had set designs from it

CDN media

Blade Runner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner

CDN media

The Rocketeer: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocketeer_(film)

The Thirteenth Floor https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thirteenth_Floor

CDN media

General Airborne Transport XCG-16 – Aircraft of the Month

/ Spencer Gould

This months aircraft is a unique transport glider from WWII. This aircraft caught my eye on the canceled aircraft facebook page, ref: https://www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=981364570937692&id=100071924734346&mibextid=wwXIfr&rdid=NIE6aPTT9lZhRlHM

This glider seriously looks like many sketches from my high school / college years.

While rather unconventional it is very sleek and went against the Waco CG-13 that ultimately won the down select with the Army air core.

The XCG-16 was evolved from the lifting fuselage theories of Vincent Burnelli laid out in U.S. Patent No. 1,758,498,

A very good article on the -16 can be found at: https://www.cafsocal.com/back-to-the-future-with-the-xcg-16-bowlus-transport-glider/

Forum thread: https://www.secretprojects.co.uk/threads/general-airborne-transport-xcg-16-combat-glider.13844/

Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Airborne_Transport_XCG-16

Cargo was setup side by side with leading edge mounted doors

Only one XCG-16 was produced and flown. It had good flight qualities however had other deficiencies that turned the vote to the Waco offering.

For such an odd WWII one off prototype there are a few good videos on YouTube about it:

Very surprising there are no hits on Outerzone for the XCG-16.

With the ruled surfaces it would be rather easy to build one of these out of Balsa or even foam board.

Massive thanks to the Cafsocal web site above a detailed pdf is available, see the quick link below, with the combined with modern cad software and even 3D printing getting an accurate RC version is quite workable.

XCG16-2-of-2-35x22in-300pxDownload

And here is a lower rez verion for quick ref:

General Airborne Transport XCG-16 Combat Glider | Secret Projects Forum

Sonex High Wing – Aircraft of the Month

/ Spencer Gould

With the recent announcement that Sonex Aircraft is facing bankruptcy I wanted to do this month’s article on their last project known as “the high wing”.

Sonex has always been a value packed and innovated kit plane manufacture. One of my first experiances around Sonex was Dan Weseman Corvair Powered Sonex often called a Cleanex to draw a line on what powers it. Very impressive aircraft all around. The Local EAA chapter 203 in Palm Beach had a Sonex motor glider going when I was part of the group.

Hopefully a well funded / aviation minded investor can come in and save the company and continue operations.

The Experimental Aircraft Channel has been covering what’s been going on with the recent events along with a flight in the high wing

https://www.youtube.com/@ExperimentalAircraftChannel

As of the time of this writing the Sonex page is still up and running, this is the detailed page for the high wing: https://www.sonexaircraft.com/highwing/

It seems like a very good entry into the high wing, off airport market.

With it being a new aircraft there are quite a few YouTube Videos on it:

Sonex’s main playlist:

No RC options I’m aware of but seems like it would be easy to scratch build a scale RC via Balsa or 3D printing.

Wings over the Rockies Aviation Museum

/ Spencer Gould

I recently got to visit the Museum on a trip to Colorado, very impressive and well worth the visit for anyone who likes to see historic military aircraft.

Dedicated page for the visit can be found at: https://gouldaero.com/wings-over-the-rockies-aviation-museum/

Web Site = https://wingsmuseum.org/

Address = 7711 E Academy Blvd, Denver, CO 80230

Of special interest my Grandfather worked at Lowry for a few decades working on various simulators, training aids and general handy man for the USAF. Going through old family photo albums here is a picture of him (centered) receiving an award from one of the AFB leaders

MFI-9 Junior – Aircraft of the Month

/ Spencer Gould

This aircraft of the month comes from 1960’s Sweden, it was also produced under license in West Germany as the Bölkow Bo 208

They show up at large air shows ever now and then with the unique seating / wing position making them kind of a stand out.

Original power was a Continental A-75 engine that was later updated to a O-200

A military variant called the MiniCOIN was also made.

Lots of YouTube Videos

Some R/C videos, but no plan / kit options found