The fuselage consists of three basic sections: the engine section, the cabin section, and the sheet-metal tail cone section.  The landing gear bolts on to the assembled fuselage section.

The main fuselage is a conventional semi-monocoque structure: a basic rectangular section formed by four longerons, with skins blind riveted to the longerons (and stiffeners).  Five rounded bulkheads form the top skin.

The cabin area of the fuselage is unique in many ways. It was designed for today’s pilots who are significantly taller than pilots were 50 years ago (and larger than most designers of kit planes). A typical six-foot six-inch pilot will sit comfortably with plenty of head room to spare even while wearing headsets. Visibility is excellent with "wrap-around" windows. The front seats are positioned near the front of the wing so that the downward visibility to the ground is excellent. The cabin width is an amazing 46 inches from window to window, making it the widest cabin in its class. 

The roll over protection bar is located between the two seat backs in the center of the cabin. The bottom of the bar is bolted to the top of the main wing spar, and is made of 4130N heavy walled tubing. The aircraft vertical tail (rudder) will also absorb the roll over loads.

• Click here for additional information on the cabin.

The heavy-duty tricycle gear system was chosen as the standard gear configuration for the ZODIAC CH 640 to meet the needs of today’s pilots: Most pilots are not experienced ‘taildragger’ pilots, and a tricycle gear provides better stability and control on the ground.

Borrowed from the ZENITH CH 2000, the CH 640 utilizes a heavy duty gear system developed specifically for flight training operations (hard landings!). The main gear is a simple single-piece ¾-inch thick aluminum spring leaf. The single carry-through main gear provides double cantilever deflection. Four large bolts hold up the gear to the fuselage bottom which is reinforced by thick welded steel braces. Video Clip: Spring Landing Gear Drop Test  (6 seconds / 2.3 MB)

While it’s not the lightest gear system around, it provides excellent grass-field capability, and is very durable, simple and virtually maintenance-free. The fixed gear ZODIAC CH 640 is equipped with three 5.00 x 5 wheels, or optional 6.00 x 6 wheels.

The nosewheel strut uses a single heavy-duty bungee for shock absorbency. The nosewheel is steerable, with direct linkage to the rudder pedals for very effective and responsive ground handling and tight turns. The main wheels are equipped with independent hydraulic disk brakes.

The ZODIAC CH 640's gear has been developed to allow grass-field operation, and the direct linkage steerable nosewheel, plus differential breaking, provide remarkably precise ground handling and steering.

Single disc hydraulic brake assemblies are provided on the main gear. The classic Cleveland wheels with matching hydraulic disc brakes are used, made from magnesium alloy casting to give a lightweight durable unit. The aircraft comes with standard 6 ply tires.

The brakes are actuated by toe brake pedals which are attached to the rudder pedals. The master cylinders with reservoirs are connected to the pedals on the pilot side, and standard master cylinders are on the passenger side. No additional brake fluid reservoir is used. Both master and slave cylinders are the traditional Cleveland units. Brake lines are made of clear heavy duty nylon tubing. This makes it easy to bleed the brakes and very easy to install and remove the lines.

The nose gear is steerable through a 14 degree arc each side of center by the use of the rudder pedals. Steel 3/8 inch diameter rods connect the rudder pedals to the nose wheel. This gives the aircraft accurate and tight steering. A bungee assembly on the nose strut dampens shock and bumping during taxiing. The nose wheel design is unique in that it is very simple. The nose wheel strut is held in place with two large nylon bearings, impregnated with oil. The lower bearing is machined so that the strut "self centers" which also centers the rudder. A heavy duty bungee pushes down the nose strut and flexes on touchdown. The nose wheel is attached to a ¾ inch thick aluminum wheel fork which is bolted to the nose strut. The nose strut is 2 inch diameter 4130N steel tubing. The result is an all around extra tough nose gear assembly which has no O rings, back-up rings or gaskets. Additionally, no shimming is required. 

Optional wheel fairings give a sleek look to the aircraft. They are made of a two part fiberglass shell and are easily removed or mounted to their attachment brackets.

The instrument panel was designed to accommodate the standard instruments for VFR flights, with plenty of room to install the optional avionics and IFR instruments.

Standard recommended instruments include a compass, an airspeed indicator (ASI), a tachometer (RPM), sensitive altimeter (ALT), an ammeter, and the engine instrument cluster. The compass is mounted above the dashboard in clear view of the pilot and co-pilot. 

The flight instruments are mounted on an aluminum sub panel and held in place with standard vibration isolation rubber mounts, maximizing instrument life by minimizing vibrations. The airspeed indicator, RPM, and engine cluster gauges are the only instruments that have special markings. All other gauges are TSO’d and can be purchased locally.

The optional gyro package includes a vertical speed indicator, an attitude gyro (artificial horizon), a directional gyro, and a turn and slip indicator (turn coordinator). 

• Click here for additional details on the optional gyro package.
• Click here for details on the engine controls.
• Click here for details on the flight controls.

The wing tie-down rings and the tail skid make it easy to tie down the aircraft. The wing tie-down rings are attached to the aircraft wing main spar. The tail skid is attached to the fuselage bottom. The tail skid is also used for hard tail landings and is made out of 2 inches by 3/8 inch thick aluminum. It is held in place with one bolt at one end and is sandwiched at the other so that it can flex, acting as a small landing gear.

The electrical system of the Zodiac CH 640 is a 12-volt direct-current single-wire negative-ground system. Electrical equipment is grounded to the metal structure of the airplane, taking place of the second wire. A 12 volt "Gill 35" battery is incorporated in the system to furnish power for starting and as a reserve power source in case of alternator failure. The battery and alternator are both connected to the bus bar from which all the electrical equipment is powered. The starter receives its power from the load side of the battery. The master switch, located on the switch panel below the instruments, controls the battery relay. The master switch must be on before any electrical equipment will operate.

The electrical switches and circuit breakers are installed on sub-panels which are screwed to the main instrument panel. This makes it easy to remove and install new switches and breakers. Instead of using switches and separate breakers for each ON/OFF system, combination single pole switches and circuit breakers are used instead. 

The charging system consists of a 3 phase, delta-connected alternator (with the Lycoming O-360) rated 14V D.C. at 70 amp continuous output. Overvoltage protection is provided within the regulator. It will trip the regulated output after the regulator fails to maintain the correct level.

• Click here for additional details on the optional electric system kit.