When visiting Balclutha, I had arranged with Charlie Kenny to visit his place at Clydevale to inspect his completed Jodel D 150X ZK-CCD. Charlie fired up the Peugeot Diesel and it sounded really smooth and effortless.
I think Charlie has a bit of Burt Munro about him as he has built the D 150X entirely by himself in his shed, as well as sorting the engine and its systems, and I reckon he has achieved a great result.
The original D 150 Mascaret was designed by Jean Delemontez as a Jodel D 11 replacement, and it first flew in France in 1962. But ZK-CCD is not a standard D 150. Charlie told me that it is a one-off design incorporating the good bits from many Jodel models. It has the luggage locker from a D 140, the tailplane from a D 18, the rudder from the D 150 and the wing airfoil from a D 18, but with a bigger wing, and it has split flaps that drop down from the trailing edge. Charlie has also made the cockpit wider at 44 inches, and he has moved the seat back 3 inches and sloped the seat-back to 30 degrees, giving a very roomy cockpit with a FU 24 windscreen and great headroom. It sure is big!
It is only awaiting the final paperwork before taking to the air from Charlie's airstrip.
I think Charlie has a bit of Burt Munro about him as he has built the D 150X entirely by himself in his shed, as well as sorting the engine and its systems, and I reckon he has achieved a great result.
It is only awaiting the final paperwork before taking to the air from Charlie's airstrip.
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