The EAA is the primary organization devoted to experimental aircraft in general, and homebuilt aircraft specifically. The national organization provides a few valuable services - workshops and information for builders, primarily - but their main value is in organizing and assisting local chapters. EAA 857 is the author's local chapter, in Zelienople, Pennsylvania. Although the author has only attended a single meeting to this date, he plans to attend future meetings regularly and participate in the various other events organized by the chapter.

A CH 701 on floats in New Caledonia
Photo borrowed from Zenith

For CH 701-specific material, Zenith's official CH 701 page is the place to start. The unofficial CH 701 page is a bit lighter on information, but still worth a look. Matronics manages a couple of relevant mailing lists that are worth subscribing to, despite an at-times frustrating signal-to-noise ratio. Especially useful is the ability to search the (incomplete) archives of the list; be sure to select the correct archive and try both Zenith and Zenith701801. Also worth subscribing to is the dead-tree Zenair Newsletter (not to be confused with zenair.com, the international portion of Zenith); their archives are available on CD for members only. Finally, DVDs are useful both to help with understanding the build process, and to help with explaining to others why one would build a plane. In the first category is HomebuiltHelp's collection of CH 701 video guides, which should be mandatory for all builders. In the second category is Stol Adventure's collection of DVDs (only one available so far), which are a good reminder of what the CH 701 can do in the hands of an expert.

Bob Jones's CH 701 on skis in Alaska
Photo borrowed from Zenith

For aircraft supplies, the next stop after getting a CH 701 kit is Aircraft Spruce; their free catalog is worth having around just to read and dream. Although Zenith uses custom landing gear and Matco wheels, Grove is very well respected in this area. ComLet makes the composite landing gear sold by Aircraft Spruce, but is a complete unknown. For toys for the pilot, rather than the plain, Sporty's Pilot Shop is the first stop.