Corvair College #30 Running Engines

Builders,

Here is a look at many of the 10 new engines that came to life at CC#30.  This is many more than CC#26 last year, our first College at the Zenith factory. Second events always build momentum like this, as builders have time to prep, and many people coming to their second college have a very solid plan in place for round two. Our Next College #31, will be the 5th at Barnwell SC, and we expect to run as many as 25 engines there. We have already made plans to hold CC#34 at the Zenith factory in September 2015. Sounds far off, but it just 51 weeks away.

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Nothing gets engine building in high gear like having a builder fly in right in the middle of the College. Lynn Dingfelder arrives at the College, having flown in 700 miles from Pennsylvania. If a Rotax owner flies in to an event where other Rotax owners are present, you don’t see the same reaction as above, because all the people have in common is owning the same imported product. Not much of a bond. Conversely, people who build Corvairs have not just a common set of skills, they also posses a taste for self-reliance and challenge that set them in a small and different club of individuals. There is room for everyone in experimental aviation, you need only seek the right place for you. If you look at the pictures below and feel a strong urge to build your own engine, then you are probably a Corvair guy at heart, and nothing you could buy will feel as right as the moment when your own engine comes to life.

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Above I speak with Jerry Parker of TX as the 2700/Weseman bearing engine destined for his Pietenpol does a break in run on the stand.

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The Bowen brothers on the right, watch the break in run of the 3,000 cc/ Weseman bearing engine that will power their Dragonfly.

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On the right Gene Kujawa at the break in run of his 3,000 cc/ Weseman bearing engine that will power his Zenith. I am setting the timing in the photo.

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A few minutes later with Gene’s wife Janet, and Mark Petz from Falcon. Gene and Janet took a long time to get to this day, and it was a great moment. They were not in a race with anyone, and the moved at their own pace, having fun and mastering the skills they were picking up. They were no out to simply ‘get it done’ or check some box. They truly enjoyed the process. Mark offered the assistance of his shop and guidance for some of the assembly.

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Above, I am using a digital temp gun to check the exhaust stacks on Mark Chouinard’s 2,700cc/ Roy’s Garage bearing engine destined for his 85% complete Pietenpol. This engine was begun at CC#28 in TX earlier this year.

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Mark Chouinard savoring the prop blast of his handiwork. This has a lot more pride and meaning than buying an engine or doing the minimum amount to work to a flymart relic to get it going. This is a fully overhauled, zero-timed aircraft engine converted from a very well respected automobile engine. (yes, the cars leaked oil, but they did not break.) But the real product in the picture is the change in capability and perspective of the man that chooses to learn and build rather than to simply buy.

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Larry Magruder, 601XL builder from Texas, running his 2700cc /Weseman bearing engine.

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Above, Eric Muehlberg, 650 builder from Oklahoma, films his 2700 cc/ Weseman bearing engine coming to life.

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Above, a good shot of Eric Muehlberg and his engine. Each motor get a 25-30 break in run.

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Canadian Zenith 750 builder Frank Sills runs his 2,700cc /Weseman bearing engine. He began the engine at CC#27 at Barnwell last year.

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Zenith builder Dick Johnson stands beside me the moment before his 3,000 cc /Weseman bearing engine Came to life.

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Above, Zenith 750 builder Tim Gibbs with his 2,850cc / Roy bearing engine at power on the stand.

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Another photo of Dick Johnson and his 3,000cc engine.

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Would you like to see your photo here? Click on:  https://corvaircollege.wufoo.com/forms/corvair-college-31-registration/, it is filling up fast, and the photos here all belong to builders who previously decided that this was going to be the year in which they took decisive actorn to advance their own dreams in aviation. Remember the words of Getty Lee when he pointed out that people who decide not to choose a path are still making a choice, just not a productive one.

-ww.