Vance Lucas, Zenith 750/Corvair, nearing 100 hours.

Builders:

 Vance Lucas, from western Canada, sent a note that his 750, which first flew in April, in now approaching 100 hours.  His 3,000cc Corvair powered Zenith 750 was a start to finish 36 month build, including Vance building his own engine at our Corvair colleges. Hats off to Vance, for a job very well done. His personal reward is amplified by being the master of his power plant, not simply it’s owner. He invested the extra measure of his own effort to achieve this. Corvairs are not for everyone, but if your individual path is driven to find out how much you can learn, not how little, you will find the engine and our program to offer a depth of understanding for those unwilling to settle for less.

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Above, Vance and his 3,000 cc / 120 HP engine during the perfect break in run. I took this Photo in Portland Oregon last year. If you are not a Corvair builder and wonder at times why we have a very strong following, this is an easy example to follow: I drove out from Florida with a trailer of tools and the test stand to cover colleges all over the west. (read: Back in Florida after 7,380 miles on tour.) The trip included a 1,000 mile extension to cover just 3 Zenith builders in Portland who were ready for a test run. Total Price I charged these builders for travel work and test run? Zero dollars. The great majority of companies in experimental aviation measure ‘success’ solely based on how much money they make. Since 1989, I have measured success by what builders have learned, and how they use this to safely operate their aircraft 

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 Vance drove down from Canada to Portland for his test run. He is a first class guy and good company. He also attended the Corvair College #30 we held at the Zenith factory in Mexico MO. For a look at the Portland story, read: A tale of three Zenith builders.

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Above, a picture Vance sent after his first flight. It is a sharp looking plane that runs and flies very well, but the real story is the man standing in front of it, and how much he learned about his power plant in the process of building his aircraft.

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The fact most people who complete an experimental aircraft have hardly any understanding of how the engine on their plane works is a reality, but not my issue to contest. My work is just focused on providing an excellent opportunity for the small segment of traditional homebuilders who are not satisfied to just ‘own’ an engine, they want to understand and be the master of the power plant they fly behind.  If this sounds like who you have always been, then perhaps Corvairs are your power plant.

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