Author: William Wynne

I have been continuously building, testing and flying Corvair engines since 1989. Information, parts and components that we developed and tested are now flying on several hundred Corvair powered aircraft. I earned a Bachelor of Science in Professional Aeronautics and an A&P license from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and have a proven 30 year track record of effectively teaching homebuilders how to create and fly their own Corvair powered planes. Much of this is chronicled at www.FlyCorvair.com and in more than 50 magazine articles.
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3.3 Liter Corvair Kit engine, Available for 6/28-29 Finishing School.

Builders,

SPA and Flycorvair are holding a finishing school, June 28-29th at the Panther factory here in north Florida. We already have a nearly full house of builders who will build and run their own engines here.  At this moment, we have one slot open, and it is going to the builder who takes advantage of the following offer:

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SPA has one complete 3.3 liter Corvair “Engine in a Box” kit.  This is the absolute highest quality Corvair engine you can possibly assemble, All built around the SPA Billet Corvair Crank. This is not ‘the affordable Corvair’ the 3.3 EIB kit is an exercise in how high quality and powerful a Corvair can be made.  We have different packages and approaches for builders on different timelines and budgets, The 3.3 EIB kits are not for everyone, but they are an excellent value, particular for those who also want the training and support to become the master of their engine, not just it mere owner. 

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If you have specific questions about this engine, call Rachel at SPA, the direct line is 904-626-7777.  She has all the pricing, and as host of the finishing school, Rachel will be able to answer questions about the event.

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We are working on a time line to have day visitors on the 29th to see the engine runs as observers. I will have an update on this shortly. We are trying to arrange things so people new to Corvairs can get some exposure and have questions covered, but Finishing Schools are focused on the builders attending, so we are making sure the logistics of this are fully covered before we open an invitation to observers.  More news on this next week.

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 Above, Dan and Rachel stand on either side of their 3.3 engine at Oshkosh 2015. In the years since, the 3.3 has become the premium ‘Engine in a Box’ kit, which as been assembled and flown by a number of builders.

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A story about 3.3 liter Corvairs:

3.3 Liter Corvair, a Smooth Power House

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Link to a video of the first 3.3 Running:

SPA / Weseman 3.3 Liter Corvair now running

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A story about a 2,000 mile 3.3 flight.

Ken Pavlou 601XL / 3.3 Corvair; Then there was two…

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A story about vibration testing at Sensenich props on the 3.3:

Testing at Sensenich Propellers

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Story about a 601XL flying on a 3.3L:

Ken Pavlou, Zenith 601XL / Corvair, 620 hours.

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A story about the billet cranks which are the heart of all the 3.3Ls and many 3.0L Corvairs

SPA Billet Corvair Cranks

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A short discussion of the value of a large displacement Corvair

3,300cc Corvair 601XL, Oshkosh 2017

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A look at how the standard baffling kits also clean;u fit the 3.3:

Baffling on 3.3 Liter Corvair 

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A funny story about a test run on a 3.3:  3.3 Liter Corvair of Kamal Mustafa

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New Video: E/P and E/P-X Ignitions.

Builders,

Through the magic of the internet, A grease monkey in Florida can work with a genius in Connecticut just by texting and Volia!, a new video appears in cyberspace……maybe you can make a unicorn…..

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Video is up, you can see it at this link:

https://youtu.be/Yn_eKFaAWHw

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Please remember too subscribe! we are steadily working toward the goal of 1,000 subs where Youtube allows us to put a lot of direct hyperlinks in the descriptions.

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Thank You, William.

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5/29/19 – A bad day at the airport.

Builders,

Yesterday was a tragic day at our airport. One of the finest aviators I ever had the privilege of being a friend to was lost in an accident a few miles from his home here.  Some of the circumstances are known, but none of it matters, the only thought is how we will not see him in this life again.

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Because it was a slow national news day, stations as far away as Utah and California spread the disinformation and non-truths gathered by an invasion of media ghouls, all willing to trade another families suffering for some small ratings uptick for themselves. I started off civil by asking “If your father was lost would you want your own mother to meet strangers with cameras at the front door?” A thought which would give pause to normal people but seemingly had no effect on vermin.

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I have received calls all morning from friends asking politely if it was anyone in my home or in the Weseman family, or part of what we were doing. It was not, it was an RV-4 accident. The man was a very treasured and dear friend, a real one of a kind guy. Many of our closer friends met him, and will remember him well, at a later point when everyone in his greater family is told, I will share some good stories in his memory.

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If you still believe that one brand of news is more ethical than others, let me say that if you were here yesterday, it would have cured you of this illusion. All networks were represented, and they all behaved like jackals and ghouls. Our airport is private property, and after one neighbor briefed the media, they were asked to leave. Instead they all kept sneaking back in, and all three tried to ring the doorbell of the mans home, when his wife had been a widow for 45 minutes. You can claim this is local TV, but the lies they told were eagerly snapped up and retold by their national networks, including Fox. 12 hours after the accident they were still staking out the entrance, hoping for ambush interviews, This morning I caught more on the runway, “filming on location” although the accident was many miles away. I had the sign above made to further clarify they we didn’t need scum like them in our community.

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Today is a still day at our home airport. The song of a very beautiful life abruptly stopped and now things seem terribly quiet. I’m fighting off the temptation to hop on the dirt bike and ride up to his hanger, because my heart says he must still be up and is place putting in another day working on his 14th homebuilt. He isn’t there, but if you knew him, you would understand that some lives are vibrant enough it’s impossible to imagine the world without them.

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WW.

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STOL Bowl #4201-B, flying in video

Builders,

Zenith 601-HDS / 2,700cc Corvair builder/flyer Larry Nelson, of Yuma AZ is the first builder to send back confirmation of flying my new ‘STOL Bowl’ .

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To see the video, click on this link:

https://youtu.be/wimVby1WTpQ

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If you want to make sure you see all the videos we put up, please subscribe. I encourage this for the secondary reason that we will be able to put active hyperlinks to stories in the video descriptions as soon as we have 1,000 subscribers. It will do a lot to tie in previous stories I have written to each of the videos. I’m trying to get to this threshold asap.

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Above, Larry with his bird. Even though it was intended for STOL planes, the new nose bowl really has no measurable drag penalty on faster aircraft, and it will provide significantly enhanced cooling on any Corvair powered plane. Larry’s home base is 10 miles from Mexico, in one of the hottest places in the US. He selected to replace his original standard bowl with a STOL bowl to improve his cooling in advance of really hot summer weather where the average daytime high is 105F. The exchange was direct and only took a few hours. the gray color shown is the smooth gel coat the part is shipped in. Painting is an option.

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When watching the video, Larry speaks of oil temps now of 220F- keep in mind that with Corvairs flying on my Gold oil filter housing #2601, I’m intentionally measuring the temp. before the cooler.  The oil we use will not have a problem at sustained temperatures near 300F, but I consider anything over 260F before the cooler excessive to the engine.  Oil is only half the story, as Larry also saw a very significant reduction on CHT’s particularly in a hard climb.

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If Larry’s name sounds familiar, it is because he is also our selected oil analysis expert. Check out this story: Corvair Oil Analysis. This program will shortly be the subject of another video.  Larry is also remembered as the guy who paid for  the parts in his engine with ammunition: Acceptable methods of payment for Corvair parts. Quite a character.

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2,000 mile Zenith 601-XL adventure

Builders,

If you are building, and you are finding it a little hard to picture exactly what your plane will be capable of when it is done, he is a story that you will find enlightening and motivating at the same time.  It is a very well written and illustrated travel log of  Ken Pavlou’s recent trip from Connecticut to Florida and back in his Zenith 601XL

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There is an enduring misconception that you must have a $100K aircraft powered by a 180HP or more Lycoming to travel around the country. The people who expended the funds to buy such aircraft are heavily invested in perpetuating such myths, mostly because when a builder with <$40% of that in his plane has a great adventure traveling,  it makes the expenditure people feel less special.  The truth be told, simple, affordable aircraft like a Corvair powered Zenith 601/650 , when operated by a prepared pilot with respect for weather, are more than capable of consistently making long trips and having great adventures around our country.

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There will always be people who myopically look at aircraft speed, but for reasonable people, consider this: Ken’s outbound flight from Central Connecticut to north Florida was less than 8 hours flying time. To shave 90 minutes off this, to make it 6.5 hours, he would have to find, and then feed, an aircraft capable of cruising 35-40 mph faster.  If someone’s sole focus of building is to have a faster airplane so they can spend less time in it, perhaps they should honestly ask themselves how much they like the fundamental act of flying itself.

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Above Ken’s view as he was about to cross the Delaware Bay on the return flight.

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Read Ken’s complete story here:

https://kenpavlou.wordpress.com/2019/05/05/2002-mile-round-trip-to-florida/?fbclid=IwAR0XOOQNRPfSNc_tq0Av7rTT1edoGZdK-I291FKV8aYVOhEXN0BFQ4ZQqwQ

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To look at a previous adventure of Ken’s in 2014, look at this story:

1,500 mile Corvair College flight in a 601XL

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If you have not yet met Ken, get a very entertain read here:

Ken “Adonis” Pavlou advises aviators: “Life is short, Live Large”

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