Category: Engine

Builders

One of our more popular parts is the High Volume oil pump / Rebuilt rear oil case. http://shop.flycorvair.com/product/2000-rear-oil-case-group/

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In the last month before heading on the western tour, We assembled a batch of 30 of them.  Although they have super accurate CNC machined parts in them, I have a decidedly low tech solution to cleaning the years of grime off the rear oil case cores that builders send in.

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50 years of baked on oil and sludge can be very tough to remove, but the fine tolerances and machined surfaces on the original case don’t tolerate really aggressive nor caustic cleaning methods without some harm. The solution I have come to over years where I have rebuilt more than 350 rear cases is to first clean them by boiling them for 2 hours in water with a very strong concentration of Simple Green cleaner. Afterward I rinse them off with a pressure washer/steam cleaner. They then go through the blast cabinet with very fine media. They are them machined followed by a trip through the parts washer, and finally assembled with the new parts.

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How does one keep 30 gallons of water at a vigorous boil for several hours? With a “Jack -o-Lantern” burner of course.  While the fine details of the machining are more technically interesting, I have many more neighbors like to come over and hang out with beer and lawn chairs during a cleaning session.  For this reason, plus the esthetics of combustion at night, we tend to fire up the Jack-o-lantern at dusk and make it a social occasion as well.

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For all of you childhood pyromaniacs and unrepentant troglodytes trapped in repressive gated communities, those in apartments with pleasant neighbors and  builders exiled to places with property owners associations run by yuppies, gaze upon the Jack-o-lantern cleaner and imagine horrifying all of those that would repress your most fundamental pyro-mechanical instincts.  It isn’t just a cleaning tool. When surrounded by fun people drinking beer it is a down right declaration of motorhead independence and freedom. Contrasts nicely with the forest at twilight.

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Stoking the fire at 5 pm: The burner is a 30 gallon drum with strategic vent holes for the flames to bathe the 30 gallon tub on the top. It holds 16 rear oil cases cores. The drip pan lid makes it boil much faster. The tall red device is 370,000 BTU steam generator. It is very impressive, and I melted a plastic tool shed with it before I understood it’s potential. But it still will not remove solidified five decade old sludge from Corvair parts without them first getting a boiling bath in Simple Green. It does a great job after the bath, and it then leaves the parts so clean you wouldn’t hesitate to lick them on a $5 bet…..but let them cool off first.

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Note to fellow environmentalists, Simple Green is not toxic and it is biodegradable, but I don’t dump it in the pond anyway, because it might make all the water moccasins vacation in my hangar. We have détente: I don’t swim in their pond, they don’t explore in my hangar.

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Jack-o-lantern is fueled with any available material. Above Corvair/Panther builder and neighbor Paul Salter brings over the remains of an old 4×4 fence. This was cut into one foot sections, and then soaked in a 50/50 mixture of old motor oil and dirty mineral spirits from the parts cleaner. That might sound like it would burn as clean and a torpedoed oil tanker, but once the Jack-o-lantern is at kindling temperature, it actually burns without visible smoke.

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If you look to the left of the tree, you can see the backstop for the 25 yard pistol range.  The woods behind it have no man made structure for more than 15 miles in that heading. Northern Florida has a much lower population density that people guess, particularly in rural areas.  Last week I visited with a number of old friends who live in very nice places in Southern California.  They politely try to understand the appeal of a place where I can take off from my 3,000′ “front lawn”, go dirt biking at the drop of a hat, plink in the backyard and run horrible devices like the Jack-o-lantern. I am sure they all come to the conclusion that I never grew up, which is pretty much true.

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-ww.

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Builders.

I got a short note from a Pietenpol builder, saying he just got the FAA sign off, and will be taking his first flight after a few details are taken care of. It brings up a few things everyone should have in mind at that point. While a general review of this page is in order:  Engine Operations reference page, and everyone needs to have read the flight test plan in the ops manual: http://shop.flycorvair.com/product/2009-corvair-flight-operations-manual/ , I have listed several things below that builders need to have at the forefront of their actions.

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The number one rule of first flights in anything, but particularly any alternative engine, is the “Two Minute Test.”

Understanding Flying Corvairs Pt. #5, Two Minute Test

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It should be an indication of how important setting the timing is by the number of stories I have written about it. 20% of the people doing a first flight have never set the timing on their engine. Do not be one of them, the results are not pretty.

YOU MUST SET THE TIMING ON YOUR ENGINE

When to check your timing, Lessons learned Pt#2

Ignition Timing on Corvairs

Ignition timing on Corvairs, Part 2

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Above, a 2007 picture of the homebuilt of Ken Lien of WA state. The following year, he was killed on the very first flight. You can read the story I wrote a long time later here: Risk Management, Judgement Error, money in the wrong place.  THIS ACCIDENT WOULD NEVER HAVE HAPPENED IF HE RAN A TWO MINUTE TEST. This is not a one of a kind accident, we had two planes wrecked on their first flight in 2015 by pilots who didn’t bother to run a two minute test.

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By an absolute coincidence, a life long best friend of Ken’s, named Denny Jackson became my neighbor at our airport in FL just after the accident. Denny was deeply hurt by his friend’s death, and finding out that I was the ‘Corvair guy’ lead to him angrily confronting me at our EAA chapter. He was 6’5″ and 325 pounds and not to be trifled with. Because I was part of the investigation, I already knew what Denny did not: It was caused by his friend putting his carb together incorrectly, it had nothing to do with Corvair engines, yet I could not say this to him, I could only ask that he withhold judgment. Months later, Denny understood the report, came and explained that he was just hurt at the loss of his friend. I told him I might have done the same thing.

Read more here: Comments on aircraft accidents.

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Thought for the day: Choosing to be alive ““If the goal of the captain was to preserve the ship, he would never leave port. Most people never do. The goal of the captain is to seek adventure, to meet all the challenges and still achieve the goals, to be In The Arena, not rusting at the pier in the safe harbor.”-ww.

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Builders:

A KR-2 Builder started a little internet tempest by asking a discussion group what was the ‘right’ way for his MA3 carb to face on his plane. This came complete with the insinuation that I advise people to mount them ‘backwards’, and speculative responses about it never working, terrible risk, etc. All the great answers you would expect asking a question on a discussion group where most of the people have mystery email names and very few answers come from people who have ever flown the combination.

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Above is the MA3, freshly overhauled by D&G Supply in Niles MI, (269)-684-4440. This is the FAA fuel system repair station that is run by Russ Romey. We have been sending builders there for 12 years. He is an excellent source of rebuilt MA3’s and Stromberg NAS-3s. You can read the story here: MA3-spa carb pictures, Wagabond notes. I have an entire section of my website devoted to carbs here: Carburetor Reference page. It has  been there for two an a half years. Because I have good tracking on my page, I can tell that not one single person read it this last week, because it is much more fun to ask internet strangers for answers than do a little reading.

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The originator of the question, later sent me a note asking the same question, never mentioning that he had previously asked it on the open net. His question included a picture of his carb linkage spaced out by an An3 bolt with 2″ of washers on it, asking if it was OK to do this. He also mentioned getting advice on this from his local expert who was qualified because he was an A & P and a Tech Councilor.

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I will try to keep this short: If you want to know something about your Corvair, ask Myself or Dan Weseman  first, not after you go to the internet and imply I tell people to do things wrong. Second, I have used the term ‘Local Expert’ in a negative sense in countless stories like this: “Local Expert” convinces builder to use cast pistons. I don’t care if your ‘expert’ has an A&P or is a tech councilor. Real A&P’s know never to give advice on any model of plane they haven’t been trained on…Realize also that about 100 experimentals crashed on their first flight last year, and I am going to say that Tech Councilors looked at 80% of them and never spotted the item that caused the issue. (neither did the FAA) And last, if you need to kill yourself, putting the throttle linkage on 2″ of washers on an airframe with poor survivability, will do the job. (Before sending hate mail please read: Steel tube fuselages, “Safe” planes and 250mph accidents)   But I kindly ask that those bent on self destruction please use another tool besides a Corvair powered plane, as I already know plenty of people in the FAA and NTSB, Read Comments on aircraft accidents.

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FACTS:

The carb we use is a 10-4894 from an O-200 in a Cessna 150.

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In that plane, the data tag faces the prop. It works fine.

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In tricycle geared Zenith aircraft, we put the carb on with the data tag facing the firewall for clearance reasons. There are more than 100 planes flying just like this, It works fine, and any internet joker who says it does not has no credibility. We have been flying them that way for more than a decade: 12 years of Zenith’s powered by FlyCorvair Conversions.. It works fine.

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On planes were nose gear clearance is not an issue, We install the carb with the data tag facing the prop. We have done this on many airframes, including our 601XL. It works fine.

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I have also made a one of a kind installation where the carb was sideways. It worked fine.

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When I put a linkage on a carb arm, It either has a fork end, or an AN3 spherical rod end right next to the arm, with an area washer outboard of it, and the bolt always has a cotter pin in it. If done this way it works fine.

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If you want to kill yourself, stacking 2″ of an 3 washers on a skinny bolt and putting the throttle linkage on the outboard end of this will do the job It works fine.*

*Just imagine the new pilot on his first flight, suddenly aware on final that his plane doesn’t glide well at the speed he is used to approaching, is startled, and jams the throttle in for power, except the long skinny bolt bends, and the throttle stays shut, and his glide path leads to a point 100 feet short of the threshold. His nose gear breaks off in the soft dirt, the bottom cowl digs in,  breaks the 5/8″ x 5/8″ wood  longerons, fractures the fiberglass header tank, and his IFR panel wiring provides the ignition source.  Right after they put out the fire, The A&P / Tech Councilor will say “It was that God Dammed Corvair motor that killed him, I told him to get an O-200”. 

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The 20 minutes it took to write this was probably a waste of my life.

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-ww.

Builders,

We now have complete 2,775 cc piston, connecting rod and cylinder kits on the shelf. These kits complete everything from both Groups 1300 and 1400, including copper base and head gaskets. You can read more on the development of the 2,775 forged piston here: 2,775 cc Pistons are here. and you can also read about the flexibility of fuels they allow here: Compression Ratios, Fuels and Power Output.

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These kits are very complete, and Feature new Weseman billet connecting rods with ARP bots, which are far easier to install than stock rods. These rods also feature fully floating wrist pins running in precision honed bronze bushings. Both the head and base gaskets are copper, and do not require any sealant. The Cylinders for these kits are bored for us by Clark’s Corvairs, to a 220 finish on their machines set up to exclusively do Corvair cylinders. The pistons are forged in California, made to the finest standards by the same company that has made all the 3,000 cc and 2,850 pistons.  The piston rings are included, they are Hastings chrome rings, the same ones we have used in countless Corvairs over the years. They break in easily in an hours ground run. I have never seen a single ‘glazed’ cylinder from their use.

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Here is the direct link to the Kit:

http://shop.flycorvair.com/product/1300-1400-groups-2775cc-pistons-and-cylinders/

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Above, a 2,775 cc Forged piston made in the USA. The custom shape of the dish in the head works with the Corvairs combustion chamber to allow a wide variety of fuels to be used without adjustment.

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-ww.

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Builders,

I spoke with Dan and Rachel Weseman today, and they told me the next round of crankshafts and 5th bearings they are processing is nearing completion. This not only includes every GM crank builders have on order, but they also have 12 additional cranks they put through the process. These are available for any builder who wants to make immediate progress. I bring this up here because I am less than 30 days from starting our 10,000 mile odyssey: College and western tour update #2 , and these cranks can be directly put into engines of builders at the three Colleges or even at one of the night school stops or house calls I will make.

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Builders considering this can directly read the link to the SPA crankshaft page:

https://flywithspa.com/product/crank-service-w-5th-bearing/

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If it is something  you want to put in gear or even have questions on, contact Dan and Rachel directly at these links:

Customer Service – sales@flywithspa.com

Technical Support – support@flywithspa.com 

Phone:  904.626.7777

With the upcoming 3 colleges these 12 cranks may move fast, if your plan is progress, contact them asap.

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For a review of the parts and components that go into a current Corvair engine build, we have a ‘reference page’ where all of the links are gathered:

Sources Reference Page

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Note to builders attending events on the tour: We will specifically mention this to those signed up for colleges, But I highly encourage any builder planning on making physical progress at the Colleges or one of the stops to order their parts now, in advance. At many colleges we have lots of parts on hand, however, this tour will bring three Colleges in rapid succession, and it is logistically impossible to bring all the parts for builders and all the tools, in a trailer with a 4,500 payload. We have to mail things to builders in advance, plus this gives builders several weeks to familiarize themselves with the parts before heading to the college. Additionally, builders heading to later events like CC #37 and CC #38 should not count on me having parts available, as the on hand supply will be low or out by the later tour dates.

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Planning ahead, and acting on that plan is what insures that you get the maximum out of attending the Colleges. I love the west coast, but keep in mind the reality of the scale of our business and our family commitments suggest that it will be more than a year before I can execute another western tour on this scale. Plan, and act, make this one count for you. 

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Above is a close up of a Gen II Weseman bearing journal on a re worked GM crank. The Gen II arrangement comes already installed on the crank, match ground in place.

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-ww.

Builders,

In our week, the normal work runs through Saturday at noon, as this is when the local post office closes. We mail almost everything by USPS, as 20+ years of trying everyone in the shipping business mailing tens of thousands of packages has conclusively proven “If it needs to get there economically, send it with the Post Office, if you need the item smashed, send it UPS, everyone else falls in between.” The hours between noon on Saturday and when ever we shut the shop down late Sunday night constitute “the weekend” but almost all of this time is spent in the hangar anyway, we just shift to projects instead of production parts.

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Above, Ignition testing in action. Corvair/Panther builder, friend and neighbor Paul Salter works as an aeronautical engineer for the US Navy on the EA-6B prowler program at NAS Jacksonville M-F. Since Paul is a graduate of Embry-Riddle’s rival Parks, and he is a dyed in the wool Ford guy, it is nothing short of a miracle that I have talked him into using a Chevy on his plane.

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 On Weekends, Paul spends all the hours at the airport here, and he has long proven to be a great asset, and if you have a Corvair in your shop, you are a beneficiary of his contribution if you have met him or not. His contributions run from loaning me his truck for the 3,400 mile Corvair College #34 tour: Back in Florida – 10 / 5 / 2015 to running ignition tests on retard boxes for these Ignition part #3301-DFI, a new optional system. Shown is “Dinosaur meets space program.” My 1947 Sun distributor machine is running the DFI distributor, while Paul’s laptop is programing the delay box that can control the timing curve electronically. This will be of use for planes in high altitude cruise, planes with turbos, or ones using N2O injection. The white box is a digital  DC power supply. The spread sheet on the laptop is displaying the information while also allowing the curve to be altered due to RPM and MAP.

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Above, a test of how low a voltage the Crane ignition unit will work at. Look at the distributor machine, the red flashes are the firing indications shown by a strobe, projected onto a degree wheel. It is doing just great, and note the power supply is only showing 4.3 volts! Most computer ignitions on modern cars, that also involve electronic fuel injection, loose their ability to work below 10.5 volts. Our system works at far lower voltages (It actually needs slightly more than 4.3 to run the coil to send powerful sparks but the brains still work at 4.3V) The crane units and simple coils also use very little power, allowing a Corvair to run many hours off a battery that had just enough power to crank it. Many electronically dependent automotive conversions will run less than 20 minutes after the alternator throws a belt or the voltage regulator gives out. As responsible people, we test things to know that we promote a system with a great margin of safety.

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Above, our test stand, under constant refinement since we made it in 2004. It replaced the original stand that served from 1989-2003. Together they have run hundreds of engines. In 2016, this one will make the great western tour, covering these events:

Outlook 2016, College #36 and Western building tour

Outlook 2016, Corvair College #37 Chino CA, 4/22/16

Outlook 2016, Corvair College #38, Cloverdale CA, 5/6/16

To refine the stand and make it work better, and also get a N2O port in the intake, we spent some of Saturday afternoon working on it. One of the improvements was junking the cable throttle that it has used for years and replacing it with the lever and rod arrangement, which is much more positive. Alright motor heads, prepare to date yourselves: You are officially middle aged if you know the throttle arm is a Hurst Shifter: you could be approaching middle age if you know what a Hurst shifter was, and if you have never heard the term, you are likely a millennial, which is ok, but know that you missed the good cars. A Prius doesn’t make the world a better place in the same way that a W-30 455 cid Hurst Olds did. The rest of the linkage is an AN turnbuckle and a used Corvair pushrod, TIG welded to a ball socket.

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Above, Vern Stevensen’s latest transportation project, in my front yard. What is good about Florida? Get a look at how green the grass is, on December 5th. On weekends, Vern is ‘On Call’ in our shop. He works on his own stuff, but is available 12 hours a day to jump in as required on flight stuff. Vern’s original trike: Fun with Agkistrodon Piscivorus and Vern’s Aero-Trike now has more than 20 thousand miles on it. It gets about 60-65 mpg, but Vern wanted to shoot for 100 mpg, in a vehicle built out of purely recycled tras….ahem, ‘Treasure.’ Thus the new “light trike.”

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Above, The powerplant is a Honda 250 elite scooter driveline. In stock form, these will drive a large scooter to 70+mph. The frame is random tubing cutoffs from my hangar pile. The front suspension is a widened 4 wheeler ATV, steering is a rack and pinion from lawn equipment. Front hubs are Geo metro rear brakes, which I turned down the ATV spindles to fit. The canopy is RV-3 flymart buy. Front tires are space saver spares from a Geo. Thus retains the full electrical harness and instrument panel from the scooter. In Florida, this is an entirely street legal vehicle that requires no insurance, special paperwork, nor inspections. Vern is thinking about putting stringers on it and making the ‘body’ from fabric aircraft  covering. The canopy and frame lift to get in and out, but the canopy also slides forward 18″ while driving for optional ventilation. The weight right now is about 200#s but he wantes it to stay under 300 done.

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Above, ScoobE checks the mailbox. It is a half mile walk from the house. Our business address that we use for work is actually 10 miles from the house, but that is where the closest grocery store is, etc. It gets checked just about every day. The neighborhood box is just for family letters. My Dad who turns 90 this month, is one of the worlds great letter writers. Since I first moved to Florida in 1984, he has send me about 200 a year. I have every single one of them carefully stored. The are often just regular news, but they are the glue that holds the family together, and they are also the documentation of all the family history, going back to all the stories my father’s  grand parents told him 80 years ago, like how my great grand mother walked alone, the 90 miles to Belfast, and got in 4th class steerage to begin work as an indentured servant in a wealthy home in NJ. It was 1868, and she was 12 years old. Through years of toil she was able to bring her siblings to America. She never saw her parents again. Somber, but a great reminder of how comparatively wonderful my life has been.

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-ww.

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