Dave saw his plane on the List of Flying Zeniths and sent us this letter and photos:
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Above, Dave and his 650
Dave Gardea CH-650 N631DG 2,700 First Flight – 5/4/11
“N631DG now has 81 hours on the hobbs and would have a lot more except I was down for a few weeks last summer while waiting for my new heads from Falcon. My project Web site is at http://n631dg.t15.org/home.html
My YouTube video channel of the first and other flights is at http://www.youtube.com/user/dgardea11/videos
(Dave started flying on a set of heads that just had a simple valve job done on them. After one of them had a valve guide slip he got to learn first hand that Corvairs fly just fine on 5 out of 6 cylinders. At that point he went to a set of heads rebuilt by Mark Petz at Falcon machine.-ww)
“The engine I built includes Falcon heads, all your high quality parts, Niagara cooler, a Dan 5th bearing, nitrided crank, Marvel Schebler 10-4894 (Model MA3-SPA) carb, front starter, John Deere alternator, and a Warp Drive prop. I have never had the opportunity to attend a Corvair College. Larry Hudson in the Indianapolis area was a great resource during the build as well in addition to your detailed manuals.
I have also attached a few pics. Please keep up the great posts on the new flycorvair.net! “
Above, the rear view of Dave’s engine. Gold Oil Filter Housing and optional Sandwich Adapter feeding a heavy duty oil cooler. These components and the Baffle Kit from J.S. Weseman make a very clean professional look in the engine compartment.
