Category: Event

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John Moyle, noted aviation enthusiast, passes -1/16/13

Builders,

Today brought the sad news that John Moyle, an aviator known to many people in the Corvair movement, passed from this world yesterday. He was a relentlessly positive person in a world were that is an ever more scarce quality. He was a devoted family man and the best of friends to many people who knew him. His attitude on any potential challenge was “Why not?” The world is full of people who are quick to think of all the reasons why something won’t work, can’t or shouldn’t be done.  John had enough positive energy to counter legions of such people and the charm to make many of them crack a smile at the same time.

Oshkosh homebuilders dinner 2003, a great night. Clockwise from left in foreground, John Moyle, Pat Panzera, and George Willenbrock, on the right, aircraft designer Ed Fisher and myself.

In a few short paragraphs it would be very hard to describe the positive work of John Moyle in aviation. He was a tremendous volunteer for any task, large or small. Need help setting up Corvair College#5? Just ask. Got a plane in Europe that needs to be in California? He was on it. Pat Panzera always credited John as being Contact! magazine supporter #1. Many experimental aviators met John at airshows because he frequently staffed the Contact! booth. His overwhelming positive energy and super gregarious nature made him a complete natural in the position. John attended a number of Corvair Colleges, many west cost builders meeting him at #5 and #13. He wrote a great number of magazine articles and contributed a lot to unseen tasks like editing. He still found the time to own a lot of different experimental aircraft and do a fair bit of flying.

You didn’t have to spend very long in his company to see that he only wanted to do things that were fun, but directly benefited others. He was just the opposite of people who always ask “what’s in it for me?”. If John was doing something, you could be sure it had a strong element of some greater good. If I am painting a picture of some very large version of Gandhi, let me correct this by saying that John was also a lot of fun and had a wicked sense of humor.

John knew many of the best parts of aviation, the moments he made by working to put himself where the fun was, where things were going on, where people were doing things. He also knew the somber side of flying as well. His brother was killed in a Glasair III crash approaching Oshkosh 2001. Other than marking the first anniversary of the accident, John didn’t speak much of it, but it was certainly an emotional burden that he quietly carried. I suspect that it stole a lot of the personal joy from flying for him, but if it did, he never said so. He was the kind of guy who wouldn’t let his personal loss dampen the positive day of others.

Most people find it hard to be positive, even when things are going well for them. John Moyle was positive at all times, good and bad. He was the genuine article, the real thing, a person who understood what Roosevelt was saying when he spoke of “A man who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself in a worthy cause..”, and his life was far richer for embracing this creed. He was one of a kind, and we won’t have someone quite like him again.

Blue skies and Tailwinds John, thanks for everything, you left aviation a better, richer, friendlier place than you found it.-ww

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Corvair College #25? Leesburg FL, April 5-7, 2013.

Friends,

This last weekend I went down to central Florida to the Leesburg airport open house. Our friend Arnold Holmes, host of the highly successful College #17, is campaigning for #25 to be held at Leesburg on April 5-7, the weekend before Sun n Fun 2013.  That event starts on Tuesday the 9th. Our thinking is that people can get two types of event in the same trip to the Sunshine state. Lakeland is only another 30 miles from Leesburg. Builders can come to the College, get actual progress done on their engine, and then drive down the road and take in a day of the Sun n Fun airshow and perhaps get a look at some non-Corvair stuff.

Arnold is the new president of the local EAA chapter, and he has revitalized and motivated the group. They stand ready to support the college, there is a large hangar there and camping right beside it. The field is tower controlled, but outside the mode C airspace. It has long smooth paved runways. The event sounds good to us, but I am specifically looking for builder feed back from people considering heading to this event. We are still planning on two other colleges in 2013, Chino CA and a return to Barnwell, (and possibly a mid-west event) but I would like to hear from builders about this proposed time and location for #25.

Above, Arnold Holmes, (in blue) Host of Corvair College #17, and I enjoy the prop blast of a running Curtiss OX-5 engine. We had fun running it at the Leesburg Airport open house over the weekend. It great because you can slow it down to 300 rpm and watch the external valve train go through its valve sequence. It belongs to a friend of Arnold’s. This engine is Ninety-Five years old. Why do I love simple machinery? because, of the 12,000 OX-5s made, maybe 100-200 are left, but the still work just as they did nearly a century ago. These engines are great Machines.

I am typing this on a Dell computer, a model they probably made 5 million of. This computer could be called a machine, but for all intents and purposes it isn’t. A computer is another thing entirely. It is an appliance. Is there anyone reading this who thinks that there will be a single 95-year-old laptop of this model working in the year 2105?

To me, the most basic division between a machine and an appliance is that a Machine is understood by a skilled operator and it is made to be maintained and rebuilt. Conversely, an appliance is likely to have a sticker that says “no user serviceable parts inside.” Almost no consideration was given to maintainability. When it stops working, almost all appliances are discarded by the consumers that used them. Note the wording: the owners were “consumers,” and the item was “consumed.” Virtually none of the users of appliances understand how they work, and the people who market them have no interest in informing them.

By my perspective a Corvair engine is truly a Machine, and a Rotax 912 is really just an appliance. Our goal is to have every Corvair operator really know his engine. Contrast this with the fact that almost no 912 owner will ever overhaul his 912. If they break or wear out, the most likely outcome is that another 912 will take its place.

My oldest friend runs one of the largest on-line automotive test drive and review services. He packages the reviews into broadcast quality segments that are picked up by the major news services. Because of the popularity of his product and his location in NYC, he has access to virtually any car made. This can be fun, I was with him last new years eve when he plowed a $175,000 AMG into a huge snow bank and got it stuck overnight. We have been friends since we were 13. We have never thought alike about cars: in high school he had a Datsun 280ZX, I had a V-8 Vega. In the last 35 years we have had endless discussions about cars, and by extension, Machines. The type of vehicles he likes have morphed with every new model year ever closer to being just moving appliances. It’s hard to look at them closely and see any single part that shows evidence that it was touched by a human hand, not a robot. They essentially ceased making vehicles that I would consider owning. But I have no complaint; this has driven me to develop enough craftsmanship to build my own. It has made me a happier person.  

Machines have a very important quality that appliances never have. You can really grow to love a machine, especially if you built it with your own hands, like your Corvair engine. It becomes a physical reflection of what you understand, can make, and know how to operate with precision. It isn’t the metal that you love, it the part of you that went into creating it. real builders, maybe 15% of the people in the EAA today,  reading the above statement understand immediately.  For the other 85%? Well, I guess that’s why they make appliances.-ww

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Corvair College #24, reviewed in pictures, part three.

Friends,

Here is part three of the college coverage:

Above, Bill Princell’s (in gray shirt) Pietenpol engine on the stand at 2,500rpm for 15 seconds. I am verifying the full timing advance on the engine to be 30 degrees. This is done with a timing light, such as the one in my hand. For some reason, 10-15% of builders absolutely refuse to set their timing with a light, and fly the plane by only setting the timing statically. This is a sure-fire way to internally harm the engine from detonation.  We have long published a very detailed 9 page instruction sheet on how to install a distributor and time it correctly, complete with pictures. It is on our main website, and we send the directions with every single distributor we sell. How can I tell in an instant that the person I am speaking with never read the instructions? We they ask me questions about what the idling timing setting is. Aviation comes with lots of instructions of all kinds. You will have more fun, spend less money and live a lot longer if you read them. (note that there is no baffle box on the engine. this is why I limited this particular un to 15 seconds. we had just removed the box after a long run to inspect the top of the engine.)

 

Above, photographic proof that Corvair College is a high pressure all business learning enviornment….Irv Russell and Bill Rotenberry get some serious study time in.

Above, Pietenpol guys Terry hand and Dave Aldrich speaking to each other. Dave is holding a 64 x 35 sensenich that we sold him for his Piet. Armchair experts will claim that “every light plane flies better on a 72″ prop.” That statement is the verbal ID card of a guy who understands nothing about aircraft propulsion and just parrots things he has heard. The prop in Dave’s hands is an outstanding performer on a Corvair powered plane in the Piet’s speed category. We flew it about 70 hours on the Wagabond. I would put it against any other wooden prop on a Corvair powered plane in this speed range. It will also make far more thrust than a 72″ wood prop on a 65-75-85 Continental, and would match the output of a very strong running C-90. You can look on our thrust and HP test reports and see that an O-200 tested right on a 150 isn’t a great thrust producer either. Many armchair experts often incorrectly claim the Cessna 150 has a 72″ prop, it doesn’t, it is 69″. If it would have climbed 100 fpm more with a 72″ prop Cessna would have put one on there. At its very core, homebuilding is about learning. Testing and data are the foundation of learning. parroting old wives tales never taught anyone anything.

 

Above, I speak with Piet builders and flyers Kevin Purtee and Shelley Tumino. Kevin wrote an in-depth article on his building and flying experience for us three weeks ago. A small facet of his experience is the accident he had this last summer. At the college he reassembled and test ran his 2,700cc Dan bearing engine that powered his plane for 340 hours. Before the college I inspected the engine carefully. Other than a broken ring gear and a bent starter from the accident, there as no damage. On general principle, I retired the crank and the cam from flying. The replacement crank was equipped with a gen 2 Dan bearing journal, but retained Kevin’s original Dan bearing housing. Dan inspected the housing before the college, and replaced the bearings. This was not required, but it was inexpensive. Here is a very convincing demonstration of the accuracy of Dan’s bearing parts: Original engine case and bearing housing, new crank and 2nd generation bearing journal: It went right back together and zeroed out exactly when the cover was bolted back on its original dowel pins. There is a common misconception that the bearing housing has to be ‘line-bored’ to be accurately affixed to the case, or that Dan’s arrangement isn’t able to be disassembled after installation. Kevin’s engine showed both of these assumptions to be wrong.

On Saturday night, we awarded the Cherry Grove Trophy to Kevin and Shelley. The trophy goes to the builders and flyers that have made a great contribution to Corvair powered flight. We have only 8 slots on the trophy, and their names are in the 5th location. In three more years we will retire the trophy and send it to The National air and space museum. Their names join Mark Langford, Dan Weseman Joe Horton and PF Beck, as outstanding members of our movement that went out of their way to make Corvair powered flight more accessible to builders that followed them. Their frequent appearances at airshows far from Texas, their constant promotion of ‘learn build and fly’ and the hosting of the highly successful Corvair college #22 made them the right people to be awarded the trophy in 2012.

 

Although Kevin’s day job is flying attack helicopters, he also immerses himself in experimental aviation.  Every one who has met him understands him to be a very funny and friendly guy. Kevin is justifiably proud of his 31 years as a warrior, but in the setting of homebuilts, he likes to be thought of as another fellow builder. At the College he wore my sock monkey hat and Shelley had a shirt for him with the ‘hello kitty’ logo embroidered on it. Neither of these two touches worked to fully suppress Kevin’s tough guy nature, but the did very effective show that he has a good sense of humor. Man on the right is long time corvair movement builder Chris Pryce, who has just started flight training with the USAF.

Above, gratuitous Scoob E dog photo. Like many dogs, he gets nervous about being left behind when any type of packing is going on. The fact it took two days to load the trucks and trailers was almost too much for him. He was overjoyed when we finally let him sit in the vehicle several hours before we left. It was his 8th college.

 

Above, Local dogs Spike and Max were fascinated by all the action around the run stand.

Above, Vision builders Michelle Tomolo and Mike Schwab enjoy their smooth running 3,000 cc engine with Dan bearing. Theri Vision is about half done. It is a combination that many people are looking forward to seeing fly.

 

Above, packing works both coming and going, and Brian Law offered to comfort Scoob E while we packed up at the end of the day on Sunday.

Above, Grace took this very nice photo of P.F.’s Piet at sunset on Sunday.

 

Mike and Michelle stand by their 3,000 cc Corvair after it came off the run stand. The engine is equipped with all of our gold parts. Although headed for their Vision EX, this exact engine could power a Zenith, a Piet, a KR, or a number of homebuilts. On most installations, the only engine components that vary are the carb and the propeller. Other than these two items, virtually all parts of our standard configuration engine can be used on any Corvair powered airframe. -ww

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Corvair College #24, reviewed in photos, part two.

Friends,

Tonight’s instalment of photos from college#24……

Above, I give a hands on demonstration of setting the valve adjustment on a corvair. I always prefer to do this with the pan off and the engine standing on its nose. We have a stand for this, but it could be done just as easily with a stand made from two 18″ squares of 3/4″ plywood. In this position the crank sits still and the engine rotates around it. This is how certified engines are assembled in repair stations.

Dan Heath’s KR-2 in overhead flight. It is white on top because composite planes need to stay cool in sunlight, but the bottom of the aircraft shows why he calls the plane “the Blackbird.”

 

Above, Dan gives a hands on demonstration of how his original 5th bearing design is field installed on an existing fully assembled engine as an upgrade. Several engines at the college featured Dan’s 2nd generation bearing which requires working with the crank out of the engine. He is still in full production on both designs because they serve different needs. Dan and I have sourced a different crank shop and nitriding facility here in Jacksonville to use in addition to our traditional work with Moldex in MI. Builders interested in having their crank done and using Dans bearing can streamline the process by having us take care of the crank and opting for a Gen 2 bearing. The crank comes back as a drop in piece and the majority of the alignment work of the bearing installation is done because the Gen 2 part on the crank is already installed and ground concentric with the crankshaft.

Above, Dan Heath, on the right, talks about his KR-2 with other builders. Many people commented that Dan’s engine installation displayed outstanding attention to detail.

 

Above, Irv Russell, left, gives a thumbs up after a demo flight in Phil Maxson’s 601. Irv is building a 650 but had never flown in either a 601 nor a 650. This was quickly taken care of at the college. Irv got a jump-start on building his own engine by picking up a closed case from us with a gen 2 Dan bearing already installed. We gave it to him at the discounted price because he used his core motors case and crank as a trade in.

Above, Zenith 750 builder Gaston Brawley finished and ran his 3,000 cc engine at the college. It features a Roy bearing and a lot of very nice detail work, including all of our gold parts, which match is paint job. His alternator bracket is in place, but we rarely run a charging system on a break in run.

 

Above, Corvair college #20 grad Jon Coxwell had the company of his son at #24, and the pleasure of finishing and running his Aircamper engine. Here both father and son give thumbs up.

Above, another photo of air inlet rings. This is Phil Maxson’s 601 cowl. It is one of our older one piece units. Phil’s plane was finished in our old Edgewater hangar in the spring of 2006. His cowl has been in the same configuration since then, and he has never had any type of heat issue. At the College he flew down with a 3,100cc engine built by Mike Robitie for mikes Cleanex project. Phil is good friends with Mike and opted to break the engine in on Phil’s 601. The history of this plane is a good example that we have long known how to install the Corvair on the Zenith airframe, our own 601 first flying almost 9 years ago.  Builders of these airframes have a very proven path to follow.

 

Above, something of a coincidence: notice the names, Builders Michelle Tomalo and Shelly Tominio, sisters in Corvairhood, they even look a little bit alike.

Above, At the Friday night dinner, Local host P F Beck took the time to thank his outstanding crew. They did a great job and stayed late into the night and to the last builder was gone on Sunday. We wanted for nothing at the event, these guys set the standard for host performance.

Above, Dan stands beside is 3,000 cc Panther Prototype engine. It is the first engine running with his new, made in America, billet crankshaft. Note that it also has our jointly developed rear alternator arrangement. (a little more full output load testing takes place this week) At the College the engine Greg Crouchley built for his Waiex airframe also featured one of Dan’s billet cranks fitted with a gen 2 bearing.  While they are not required, they are the last word in strength an a good value when measured against the extreme cost of buy-it-in-a-box imported engines.-ww

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Corvair College #24, reviewed in photos, part one.

Friends,

Corvair College #24, the third one we held at Barnwell South Carolina, is now in the history books. After most colleges I sit down and write down a lot of thoughts and ideas that came with the college experience, mix them in with many photos and share them with builders. This review will be a little different, I’ll just let the photos tell the story with minimal captions.

We made it home only 18 hours ago. I slept less than 2 hours the night before leaving, and worked from 7:30 am until 1 am each day of the college. We didn’t leave Sunday until an hour after dark. Today we spent unpacking, as we came up in 3 trucks and 2 trailers. Pictures seem appropriate to cover the story now because my memories of the event are more of a montage of small moments rather than a story line with a central theme. In a week or two that will probably emerge out of the images, but for tonight, every picture will have to tell it’s own story.

Above, One of the first planes on hand, Jerry Baak’s 601XL with conventional gear. First time I had seen this plane in person. 2,700 cc with a Dan bearing, and all of our components.

Above, Pietenpols of Don Harper (near) and PF Beck (far). They are sister ships in almost every way, with two exceptions: Don’s is a long fuselage and it had a Ribblett airfoil instead of a traditional Pietenpol airfoil. Shortly, PF will be able to offer factual comparative data on the flight performance of each of the airfoils. On the internet, armchair aerodynamictists have pontificated about this from imaginary data for years. Thanks to PF and Don, we will have information worth reading.

Above, Jerry’s engine compartment. Magnificent workmanship. Our Heavy duty oil system fits exactly as intended with the Weseman baffling kit. Plane uses a MA3-spa carb.

 

Above, our standard 13″ spinner and 66″ warp drive prop combination. note air inlet rings. Jerry reports that the plane runs cool.

Above, Zenith 650 builder and CC#22 grad Larry Magruder works on his 2,700cc Dan bearing engine. It ran on the stand on the last day of the college.

Above, A look at Don’s engine compartment with swing out side panel. This plane uses a front starter and a basic 4 bearing set up.

Above, Pietenpol builder Terry Hand showed up with a very rare find. This is an original 1933 design steel tube fuselage for a Piet made to the flying and glider manual drawings. It was less than half the weight of a steel tube fuselage built to Grega plans. On the front we test fit the high thrust line Piet mount we made for Bob Dewinter’s Piet. We brought this fuselage back to our hangar to make Terry a custom mount and set of die spring landing gear legs. We will have more on this in the next two months.

Above, Corvair college #12 and #16 host Ed Fisher (left) speaks with Brother Roy. Ed has restarted the Sport Aviation Association, Paul Poberesney’s grass-roots aviation group. He has a membership of nearly 750 hard-core traditional homebuilders signed up for it. It is purely about home building, by homebuilders, for homebuilders.

Above, KR-2 pilot Dan Heath flew in for his second year in a row at Barnwell. The plane was looking sharp with a new paint job. The engine is a 2,700 cc Roy bearing engine that has many of our components including our KR/Corvair cowl. The prop is a 54 x 54 Sensenich, the Carb is an Ellison EFS-3A.

Below, father,son and grandson team of the Reddits working on their engine core, destined to be a 3,000 cc engine powering the family project, a Zenith 750.

Above, Phil Maxson of NJ with his Corvair powered 601 XL that has been flying since 2006.

Above, Brian Dempsy, long time EAA member, noted formula V air racer and former C1a world record speed holder works on his Corvair at the college. Brian’s best known aircraft is the racer “Miss Annapolis”.

Part two tomorrow…….

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Corvair College #24……Last Call, Reg. Closing 10-29 at midnight

Friends,

We are getting down to the wire on registration for Corvair College #24 in Barnwell SC.

The link to the registration is: https://corvaircollege.wufoo.com/forms/corvair-college-24-registration/

Our previous posts on College #24 contain all the detailed information on the event. you can read these posts by clicking on the title block “Events” in the header above.

If this is going to be your first College, I highly recommend that you read about all the previous ones at this link to our main Web page: http://www.flycorvair.com/cc23.html 

Special note on registrations: The College has a required $79 fee to register. 100% of this money goes to our local host and is spent directly on the event to cover the meals, drinks and direct expenses like benches and lighting. All of P.F’s crew are volunteers, none of the money pays for anyones time. The learning and technical support at the College are “free”, as None of the tech staff, myself, Grace, Dan, Rachel, Vern, or Terry see any of the registration money. In fact we pay the same fee to register otherwise covering the food we eat and direct expenses would fall on our host. The only people we have traditionally exempted from the fee are the pilots of the Corvair powered planes flying in. (and some of them pay anyway)  95% of the people who attend colleges understand this system and are happy to comply.This is the 3rd College at Barnwell, P.F., who is the epitome of a fine Southern gentleman, would never make a public issue of the 5% of the people who compulsively must evade carrying their own share. I may have lived in the south for 27 years, but I am permanently excluded from Southern gentleman status by virtue of being raised in New Jersey, thus I have no problem giving the 5% a hard time on this. My father was born in Passaic NJ in ’25, my mother in Irvington NJ in ’27. One of them dislikes their governor the other is entertained by him. Here is what they agree on: Their Governor always acts like someone from NJ. Although I have had 27 years of trying not to be like that, I will channel my inner NJ on people who try to ‘beat the system’ on registering.

Above, Ray Fuenzalita at CC#23 holds the sign of the three rules of Colleges. My talented and beautiful wife Grace painted the sign above. We have few rules at the Colleges, but we always abide by them. We lay off the top two subjects of conversation (as they rarely bring people together) and the third is that we teach builders to avoid products from totalitarian police states noted for poor quality.

Since #24 will follow a national election by 72 hours, I am going to forewarn people, no kidding, I am going to have a zero tolerance for breaking rule #1. I have actually thrown two people out of colleges one from#8 and one from #11 for breaking this rule after two friendly warnings. Grace and I live in one of the few ‘battleground’ states. For the last months you can’t turn on a TV or radio, open your mailbox nor drive down the road without being bombarded by the most inane advertisements, all funded by PAC’s. I have had enough, and I am headed to the college to go have a good time with friends and be free of political trash.

601 builder/flyer Phil Maxson pointed out that he has never seen two people in a political discussion where one person suddenly says “You know, I have never thought of it that way, you sir have changed my mind.” It is the best commentary on this I have ever heard. For people who compulsively need to talk politics, take heart, Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and you can again fulfill the role of  curmudgeon uncle/old hippy for the rest of your family, but you will not get a chance at CC#24.

 

Blasts from Colleges past:

Above, Andrew Pietenpol, Grandson of Bernard, attends Corvair College #4 with and Grace and myself at Sun ‘N Fun 2003.  

 

Above, a bonfire at Corvair College #17 in Florida 2009, complete with 6 bad cases being smelted.

 

Above, 601XL builder Larry Winger, left, with his one minute old 2700cc/Dan bearing engine at Corvair College #18 in Livermore CA. 2010. Today,Larry’s plans built plane is almost done.

 

Above, Corvair College #5 Hanford CA., 2004. Hardcore builders who stayed the last full day. Can you identify Host Pat Panzera, Prolific writer Dan Branstrom and a very young Dan Weseman?-ww

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Corvair College #24, twenty four days away…..

Friends,

We are now approaching Corvair College #24. I spent all day working in the shop on college prep stuff and building a stock pile of parts. Vern and Terry have put in a large effort with me in the last 10 days, including overhauling the run stand and  making a lot of detail changes to it that will allow much faster engine changes.

In the morning, Bob Lester is flying over in his Pietenpol. This aircraft used to have a 145 cid 65 hp Lycoming on it, but Bob installed his Corvair in its place. By car, it take 2.5 hours to drive to Bob’s airport, but the Piet can now do it in 65 minutes. Bob got a 20 hour test period and flew it off without issue in 10 days. He is headed over here so we can do a weight and balance on the same electronic scales that I measured 20 other Piets on in the last 2 years. Bob reports that the planes climb rate is nearly four times higher with the Corvair. (Yes having 2 times the power can do this because planes climb on excess power, not total power. ) Bob is already signed up to bring his plane to CC#24. P.F. Beck our local host in Barnwell has his own Corvair powered Piet, so we will have at least a pair of them. I spoke with a 750 pilot who is working to fly in and we are also expecting a Cleanex and several 601’s. It promises to be a very good turn out.

The event will be a large, full-scale College held at the same location of the highly successful Colleges #19 and #21. Corvair/Pietenpol builder/flyer and Cherry Grove Trophy winner P.F. Beck, and his great crew, again are the location hosts.  The prep work for the College has been ongoing for 10 months, and it builds on the outstanding work that P.F. and crew did in earlier years. We are going to close the regular registration before the event, don’t wait until it is too late to sign up.

The link to the registration is: https://corvaircollege.wufoo.com/forms/corvair-college-24-registration/

If this is going to be your first College, I highly recommend that you read about all the previous ones at this link to our main Web page: http://www.flycorvair.com/cc23.html

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Copper State Fly in, AZ, oct. 25-27.

Friends,

For builders in the southwest, Copper State Fly in will see at least two Corvair powered planes, and have forums on Corvairs presented with Contributions by Corvair builder/pilots Andy Elliot and Woody Harris. Pat Panzera from Contact! magazine, a long time supporter of Corvair power will be organizing the engine forums and on hand at the Contact! display all weekend.

In our booth at Oshkosh 2011, I stand with three of the pilots who flew in their Corvair powered Zeniths. From left to right, Shayne McDaniels who flew in a 2700cc CH 650 from Missouri, Woody Harris in a 2850cc CH 601B from California, and Andy Elliott in a 3100cc CH 601B from Arizona. Woody and Andy will both be at Copper State 2012 with their aircraft. Woody, as our “man on the west coast”, will have our manuals and DVDs with him for sale. Both of these guys can answer technical questions on engine building and operation.-ww

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Quality Sport Planes open house, CA, this weekend.

Friends,

Builders in the northern California area can get together this weekend at the Quality Sport planes open house. QSP is Zenith’s west coast facility, located in Cloverdale. It is run by Doug and Lori Dougger, well-known through out the Zenith community for their expertise and hospitality. I just saw Doug and Lori at the Zenith open house, and they were looking forward to this weekend. QSP was also the location for Corvair Colleges #10 and #11. I think it is one of the best grass-roots airports in the US. There is more info on the QSP site:

http://www.qualitysportplanes.com/index.html

On hand at this event will be Woody Harris, our “Man on the West Coast.”  When it comes to our efforts with the Corvair movement, Woody has long been the most experienced builder on the West Coast. He has his own highly successful 601XL and he was instrumental in the success of 4 of the 5 Corvair Colleges we have held in California. He has flown a Corvair powered plane in more states than anyone else, and his 50 year international career in the motor sports world gives him a very strong background with engine building. Additionally, he’s a hell of a guy to have a beer with at the end of the day…..

Woody will have a selection of our manuals and DVD’s on hand, along with some samples of Corvair conversion parts. He usually has some good leads on core engines in his area, and he knows most of the California Corvair builders pretty well. Don’t miss this chance to meet him in person, and find your own place in the Corvair movement.

In the above photo, Woody Harris’ 2,850cc Zenith 601B sits at the end of the ramp in North Carolina at First Flight Airport with the Wright Brothers Monument in the background. There is a longer piece about Woody’s work with Corvairs at the link below:    

http://flycorvair.net/wp-admin/post.php?post=250&action=edit 

-ww

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Running an Engine at a College, required items. #1

Friends,

Several builders headed to Corvair College #24 next month have asked what their engines need to get a run in on the stand. Here is a quick list of the things that the stand comes equipped with, and a second list of the things your engine needs. Below are several photos of running engines on the stand from past colleges. There are photos of more than 100 different engines running on our stand on our main website, Flycorvar.com. Decide today that your engine is going to be one of them, and head to the college to make progress like these builders have.

Above, at College #21, Delton Perry just after the first run of his 2700cc engine. Delton is also pictured in our Zenith open house post recently. This is a good photo illustrating that building your engine feels a little different that buying one….

Items that the run stand is equipped with:

A full exhaust system An air box that covers any front starter engine an ignition system that has everything but a distributor. (the stand has its own cap and plug wires) Instrumentation for oil pressure and temp and rpm, A battery and starter switch, engine mounting bushings and bolts. An intake that works with both stock heads and one that works with welded on pipes. The stand has its own MA3 carb, fuel tank, air cleaner and throttle. The stand has its own propeller and mounting bolts.

Things which your engine needs to run: (beyond the obvious stuff)

A distributor, (either e/p or dual points), valve covers with a breather arrangement, a starter with ring gear, etc, (the stand has run engines with rear starters, but it requires a lot of additional parts, you must call me in advance if you want to try this. We have not run a rear start engine since college 9 or 10). If you have a bolt on intake pipe joint at the head which is not a stock GM casting, you need to call me in advance so we can have you make a set of adaptors. Builders all need an oil filter, 5 quarts of Shell Rotella T 15W-40, and a bottle od ZDDP additive from Clark’s or other source.  (We have all the oil priming tools for the test stand, you don’t need a drill nor a dummy shaft.) If your engine has a 5th bearing, you need an oil line for it, I bring parts to make these hoses, if you have your own parts, I will make it on the spot with you. Engines running on the stand typically do not use an oil cooler. If you have a system that uses a stock 12 plate, we are going to run it with the cooler in place. If you have a HD oil system with one of our sandwich adaptors,  we have a bypass hose to eliminate the cooler for the first run. ( We want the oil to come to temp quickly. The engine in the prop blast without a cowl does not heat up the oil to the point of having to have a cooler. If you have one of our Pre-gold oil systems, oil top covers, call me before the college, I can make arrangements to run this also. (It is out of date, but we still support it)

 

 Above, Steve Sims lies in “Superman” position on the back of my truck in the 125 mph prop blast of his newly running engine at CC#17 in FL in 2010. Building and flying planes is good fun to be had in the middle of learning and enjoying the company of fellow builders. Many aviation tech seminars are little more than power point presentations in the Holiday in Banquet room, hosted by salesmen in clip on ties. Corvair Colleges are a little more fun than that.

Ron Lendon, First run at CC#17. He flew this engine in his 601 to Oshkosh this year. Getting your engine running is an important milestone on the path to success.

Bob Lester at CC#17, he ran his engine at night, when it was good and chilly in the prop wash. This engine is now flying on Bob’s Pietenpol, and he is already registered to fly into CC#24.

Steve Makish at CC#17, learned from Bob’s night run and ran his engine during the warmth of the day.  Steves engine is now flying on his KR-2.