Corvair College #44, The “Operations College” at The Zenith Homecoming

Builders;

We are rapidly approaching Corvair College #44, which will be held at the Zenith Aircraft Factory In Mexico MO, September 20-21st. This will not be a ‘usual’ College. This will be an “Operations College.” 

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Instead of building and testing engines, I am going to very intensely focus on the operations of the engine in the airframe. Sebastien Heintz, president of Zenith has long upheld his homecoming / open house events as much more of a learning opportunity than sales events. As such he has organized forums and training sessions of many kinds, and our educational work with Corvairs has fit right into this. This year, by covering Operations, we can focus on installations, props, testing, evaluation and decision making. These are subjects I want our builders to know well, just as they know the insides of their engines. It is also information that should appeal to many builders.

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I am currently working on a 50 page Operations Handbook, a functional, bring in the plane guide to all aspects of Corvair Operations. I have reviewed and refined these ideas over time with Dan Weseman,  they are the procedures that have long proven to work for Corvair builders and pilots. This will be available at the College, but I will also have it available afterwards, as I want all people using our conversions to have this information in a neatly packaged form where they will have it with them as they need it, sort of a Pilot’s Operating Handbook for the Corvair engine.

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We will be going over many things, working with a live running Corvair engine. I want people to fully understand setting the timing, setting prop pitch, how to lean the engine, and proper instrumentation installation. In addition to this, we will have instruction by discussion of the Handbook. I will be spending the majority of the time at the Homecoming covering these topics in a small group setting where individuals can have each of their questions answered in detail until they fully understand the topic. There are many things in life I’m not good at or don’t understand,  dancing, tofu, fashion, computers, flower arranging, Volvos, international finance, modern art, most cats, ‘reality’ tv, why some people prefer Unicorns vs Ponies., But, I am a very good instructor on the topics we will be covering. If you are available, make plans to attend the Homecoming.

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Above, a Video link about the event which we shot last month at Oshkosh:

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The Zenith open house is open to all experimental builders, not just people currently working on a Zenith ( The Heintz’s are here for the long run, they figure you will eventually be a Zenith builder. ) It draws several hundred serious builders every year, and it also is a major gathering point for component suppliers and industry people. Both of the last 2 EAA presidents have been guest speakers at the event. It is a very pro-homebuilding event in an excellent setting. Surprising things happen there like this: EAA Major Achievement Award.

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Previous Corvair Colleges at Zenith were held just before the Open House, but in the case we are going to ‘imbed’ College #44 in the Open House so the maximum number of aircraft builders can get a good chance to study the information we are sharing.

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Would you like a visual on how long we have been working with Zenith Aircraft and holding events at their location? This is a picture from a 2005 Corvair event at the factory…..notice neither Sebastien nor myself had any gray hair then. We have a long history of productive and cooperative relations with Zenith. Read: 14 Years of Corvair Powered Zeniths.

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How do I find out more information about the Open House? 

You can look at their webpage http://www.zenithair.net and read all about it, including dates, location, maps, accommodations and the schedule for the event.

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Is there an on line sign up for this College?

No, Just show up. If you want to discuss the event in advance or have a question, call or text my personal cell, 904-806-8143.

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Is there a fee for this College? 

No. The Homecoming is free, Zenith only charges a modest fee for the banquet held on the first evening

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I wanted to know if you guys can get a look at my core engine while you are at the College?

Yes, I will be glad to, (We generally refer to these as ‘parking lot tours’ )  I will also be glad to transport parts like cases cranks and heads back to Florida.  Even if you are just planning on having these worked on a few months later, sending them back with us gets them in the system and gets the ball rolling.

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Will you be test running  motors?

I will have one motor with me as an operations demonstrator, If you have a motor which needs a break in run, we need to talk about it and plan in advance. Call me soon.

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Will there be flying Corvair Powered planes there?

Yes, we have ad 3-5 every year for the last 10 years.

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Is there on site Camping? are their Motels? 

Yes, the Mexico MO airport has good camping, but no hook ups. The town is a few miles from the airport, and it has a number of hotels and motels. Do not wait too long to plan, they fill up with several hundred people coming to town.

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Do you have links to previous colleges there?

Get a look at this story: Photos from Corvair College #34 at Zenith A/C

and: Corvair College #30 Running Engines,

and: Corvair College #30 Good Times

and for more general information:

Corvair College Links:

Corvair College reference page

Corvair College History….in photos

College engine build options for closing the case

Basic Corvair College Skills, examples of learning

College Tech

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