Barnwell Corvair College postponed

Builders:

Evaluating it together, local host Don Harper, Organizer/RN Ken Pavlou, and myself have unanimously concluded that we are going to postpone the Barnwell November College #48, until Spring 2021.

We have made this decision based on three factors:

To get the most accomplished at a College, builders have to work in close proximity to myself and others, making social distancing not possible. People can be careful for a few hours, but the long hours we operate, and the fact we all dine together would lead even well intentioned builders to compromise their guard. It would be irresponsible to host an event with 105 people present under these circumstances.

Second, the State laws affecting the event are changing weekly. The hangar we use at Barnwell is a publicly owned building, and what we are doing is considered an indoor event. I may not like nor fully understand all the laws about Covid, but my Father taught us a ‘Law Abiding’ person follows all laws, not just the ones they are in favor of. The additional complication here is more than two dozen states require anyone who travels to SC to quarantine themselves for two weeks upon return. A great number of builders, Including Ken, would not be able to attend the College for this reason.

Third, A focal point of the college is to celebrate the life of P.F Beck in the presence of his family and friends. (https://flycorvair.net/2019/08/29/p-f-beck-an-extraordinary-life-closes-8-28-19/) . It would diminish this part of the event if attendance was limited by travel restrictions or builders who have health concerns or care for vulnerable people. Holding a full sized event in the spring will allow a respectful event to properly honor the man who defined the hospitality standards of Corvair Colleges, and flew more than 300 people in his Corvair Powered Pietenpol.

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Above, the second to last engine at the previous Barnwell, Lou Casella’s Pietenpol engine.

If you signed up for College #48:

You will get a refund through PayPal this week. We considered offering the option to ‘roll over’ the registration, but the fact it will be in a different fiscal year precludes this. Everyone who signed up for the November college will be given advanced notice and priority when we get the date and new registration up for the new #48 dates.

For builders who were counting on getting a supervised assembly and test run in for planes that will be headed to the flight line in the spring, we will have one and two person build weekends available at my hangar in Florida over the next few months.

I will put out more information over the next 10 days. We are sending this by email to all 90 builders who registered, and posting it on social media. Thank you in advance for being understanding about this. Anyone with a specific question can ask it in the comments here of call me.

William Wynne

904-806-8143.