Ken Pavlou’s Zenith 601XL hits 500 hours.
Builders:
Ken Pavlou of Connecticut called this evening to say that his Corvair powered Zenith 601XL, now had 502 flight hours on it. It has been operational for 29 months, that is a little over 200 hours a year. Not a record, but a pretty good pace for a guy who works full time, is married and the father of two, who traditionally puts his family ahead of his hobby.
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The plane has been to Oshkosh twice, as far north as Maine, and far south as South Carolina. It has made a number of over water legs on the east coast, all without issue. It has been flown at gross weight above 12,000′ and has a significant amount of night flight time on it. All this has been done on the base model 2,700cc/100HP Corvair.
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Hats off to Ken “Adonis” Pavlou, upon reaching the 500hr milestone.
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Ken holds The Cherry Grove Trophy, 2014 at CC#31 Barnwell. His aircraft is named “The Blue Speedo.” The humorous origin of the name is best left unprinted and only related verbally between adults with Ken’s sense of humor.
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Get a look at these stories:
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Ken “Adonis” Pavlou advises aviators: “Life is short, Live Large”
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New 601XL, 2,700 Corvair, Ken Pavlou CT.
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1,500 mile Corvair College flight in a 601XL
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Outlook 2016 – The Corvair ‘Information Network’ now in gear.
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Joe Sarcione Zenith 750, 3,000cc Corvair
Update, Letter from Joe:
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“William, Thank you for your post! It probably doesn’t matter much for the post but I want to clarify a few things. The empty weight is actually 847 lbs and that includes a radio, transponder and ADS-B system and associated components. It’s also an Edition 2 kit with many Edition 3 upgrades which includes a lot of doublers It also has the dual stick option and the front bracket for future float attachment. After doing my weight and balance on digital racing scales it seems absurd to do these measurements on a bathroom scale. The best part is that I ended up back calculating the actual arm locations for fuel, pilot seat, passenger seat, and baggage area for much more accurate CG numbers by adding the weight and subtracting the difference from the empty moment calculations.
I’m extremely happy with how it came out, and it would never have happened without you, Grace, Dan, or Rachel for your time, patience, and friendship. I can’t wait to get it in the air. Joe”
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Builders
Joe Sarcione sent in a few pictures of his completed Zenith 750. It has every installation part from our catalog, along with all the Gold System parts we offer to make an outstanding Corvair engine. The plane is done, awaiting it’s test flights.
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Aircraft securely tied to a truck during test run. The first airframe component that builders often choose is the motor mount, in this case: Zenith 750/Cruiser Mounts. P/N 4201(B)
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Joe’s aircraft on the scales, it came it at exactly 850 pounds. Keep in mind, the least reliable piece of ‘information’ shared between pilots is the empty weight of their plane. I long ago established that in the world of Corvairs, we were going to only state factual data not “marketing numbers.” For a look at how long we have been working with Zenith, get a look at this: 12 years of Zenith’s powered by FlyCorvair Conversions.
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Above, Joe Sarcione (in red), The EAA’s Charlie Becker, Grace and hanging out at our Oshkosh tent for the night airshow in 2015.
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Joe with his 3,000 engine at Corvair College #25. He attended several colleges and became the master of his engine.
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Above, a look at Joe’s 3,000 cc engine installation. To understand where all the parts come from, read: Sources Reference Page
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2,850cc Corvair Bearhawk LSA – now flying.
Builders,
I spoke with Craig Owen the other day, and he said he now has 33 hours on his Corvair/ Bearhawk LSA. I built the engine for Craig a few years ago ( see New 2850cc / 110hp Corvair in photos. ) and I saw the finished plane in person while traveling around the country. ( see: House Call Bearhawk LSA; range: 6,250 miles. ) He reports that the combination is great, and he really has been enjoying it, in spite of some pretty darn cold weather in Iowa.
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Above, the plane on the ramp at Criag’s airport in Iowa. I saw it in June, he had just finished it, but was working his way through a squawk sheet of details.
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Above, a look at how the cowl quickly opens to reveal the full engine. The mount: Bearhawk LSA Engine Mount, P/N #4201-E is an item we specifically make for the Bearhawk LSA. The nose bowl is a part that fits many Corvair powered planes. The baffle kit and cowl kit are from the Wesemans.
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Above, a side view showing : Part #3901-A Zenith/Bearhawk Stainless Exhausts, now on shelf. The heat muff shown is craigs design, the ones we provide are more compact and made of thinner material. Craigs plane utilizes a MA3-SPA carb.
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Above, right side view. The hoses on the oil cooler are industrial units, the ones we offer are braided stainless steel. The intake manifold is our standard model. Craig has a funnel below the engine to drain the oil. The engine has a Weseman rear alternator on it.
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The aircraft isn’t perfect, but it is an outstanding effort for a first time builder. Craig views it as a work in progress, and he fine tunes the construction of parts as he understands how to make improvents on the items he has fabricated. He is not competing with anyone, he is in this for himself, a life long dream that waited decades for the opportunity to build materialize. It came, and for 30 months he built, and today he enjoys the fruits of his labor and determination.
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Above, Bob Barrows, the designer of the Bearhawk series, Grace and myself in our tent at Oshkosh 2013. Bob holds the distinction of having flown a homebuilt to every single Oshkosh, all of them since 1970.
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Short Run Video; Panther.
Builders;
Below is a short video of Paul Salter’s Panther running in front of his hangar.
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The first think that sharp eyes will notice is that the engine has it’s cooling baffles in place, but it doesn’t have a scoop to force the air through the engine. I tell people to never, ever to run engines like this, and if you look at pictures from our colleges, every single engine has the green cooling shroud in place.
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Here is the critical difference: This isn’t a “New” engine. It is the same 3,000 cc/ 120 HP Corvair that flew in prototype Panther for about 200 hours. ( The prototype has been upgraded to a 3.3 liter Corvair.) Unlike a brand new engine, it is OK to run this engine for short 30-60 second runs at low power without the cooling baffle. The reason why this is never done on a new engine is because lots of short start and stop runs are murder on a new cam. On a new engine, you ideally want to start it once, and run it without stopping at all for 20-25 minutes at 1800 – 2200 rpm. After that, the cam is set to go and the engine can be run for short runs without issue.
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The purpose of running the engine in the video was to verify wiring connections and system on the plane. Other people might not like this type of a video because it is a “bad example”, but I trust our builders to be intelligent people who understand differences between new and broken in engines when it is explained. I don’t like being treated as a kindergarten student, and I don’t treat people that way either.
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Paul’s Panther
Builders,
Below two pictures of Paul Salter’s Panther. Paul lives in Jacksonville, and is a Park’s University trained Aerospace Engineer for the US Navy, working on the EA-6B Prowler program. A number of years ago he built a large hangar at the same airpark where Dan and Rachel Weseman and Grace and I live. Working on weekends, Paul has built a very nice 3,000cc Corvair powered Panther, which is now in the very last stages of construction. Today, Paul was working on the weight and balance data.
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Paul’s plane was displayed this year in front of our booth at Oshkosh. Because Panthers have quick folding wings, it was very easy to transport to the airshow. While the plane was nearly complete then, Paul isn’t in a competition with anyone, he built the plane at his own pace to satisfy himself, and did not loose sight of his personal level of excellence nor his sense of fun. The plane is equipped with an Elison EFS-3A carb and a Sensenich prop. It had a number of details like a full glass cockpit and an autopilot. Yes, Paul is restoring an observatory. Some people take astronomy very seriously.
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Above is a shot of the Panther airbrushed on each side of the plane’s vertical fin. If you look really closely, you can see clever planning on the artist’s part: Notice how the eyeball of the panther is actually a structural rivet head on the plane.
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Corvairs at the 25th Zenith open house.
Builders,
Below is a look at the four Corvair powered Zeniths which flew into the 25th open house in Mexico MO, last week. Let me say again, that I remain very thankful that we have builders who put out a great effort to return to events in their finished planes, and share their experience with fellow builders. Over the years we have had about 20 different builders fly their Zeniths back to the open house and to the Corvair Colleges we have held at the factory, and a number of these builders returned several times. This years collection has one plane making it’s debut, and three returning aircraft. The high percentage of returning planes demonstrates that the events at the factory are excellent aviation events, not something builders do once so they can check off the “fly back to the factory” box.
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Above the Westedt’s, Craig and Val, stand in front of Val’s CH-650. Craig had hands on the motor, but the airframe is Val’s achievement. This was the first year at the factory. They flew in from Oklahoma. This plane was awarded “Best low wing zenith” at the 25th Open House.
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Above, Dave Gardea’s CH-650, which has been flying about 4 years. Dave has a 2,700cc engine and reports climb at 85 mph was 800-900 fpm. Level flight at 3500 ft full throttle yields 123 mph at 3050 rpm with the Warp drive prop at 9.5 degrees of pitch. He is from Indiana.
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Above the CH-601XL-B of Dr. Steve Mineart, from Iowa. The plane has been flying a little less than 10 years. Steve offered his home as one of our stops on the 2005 Midwest night school tour, and we have been friends ever since. The plane is flying on a 2700cc engine.
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Below, the Plans built 601XL-B of Ron Lendon, from Michigan. He now has 600 hours on the plane. It is powered with a 2850cc Corvair. Ron’s engine first ran at Corvair College #17.
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Above, a famous 2014 Zenith Open House photo of five Corvair Powered Zeniths. Note that Dave and Ron’s planes are in the picture, along with The McDaniel’s 650, the Hoyts 650, and Lynn Dingfelders 601XLB.
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Brent Mayo’s Corvair Powered Panther, now flying
Builders:
Florida Panther builder Brent Mayo had a flawless first flight a few days ago. He is the same builder in this story:
Job Offer: Work from home, learn a lot, make up to $400/hr.
Which is focused on the fact it took Brent less than 830 hours to build the whole plane and the engine. It shatters the myth that selecting an automotive based engine adds a lot of time to a build. Below is a link to the SPA/Panther story of Brent’s first flight. This time he demonstrates that if you select the correct alternative engine , built and install it following a proven path, you can expect a flawless first flight. For every one of you who has had to listen to an ‘expert’ in your EAA chapter tell you “automotive engines never work” , Brent just added another factual demonstration to a mountain of evidence proving that ‘expert’ is either a liar or an idiot. -ww.
Brent’s story:
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Job Offer: Work from home, learn a lot, make up to $400/hr.
Builders:
I will explain the title a little further into the post, but to start, examine the Corvair powered plane below. It is a brand new 3,000 cc Corvair powered SPA Panther, built by Brent Mayo, of Florida. Besides the fact that it is an outstanding example of craftsmanship, read this next part slowly: Brent’s builders log shows that he has a total of only 828 hours of work into the plane, 14 months of build time, and this includes building the whole airframe and the Corvair engine for it, all the way through being ready for his FAA inspection.
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Rachel Weseman wrote at story about Brent’s plane on the Panther website. You can read it and see a lot of great pictures of the plane at this link, it is the second story down: https://flywithspa.com/category/panther/ Included in Rachel’s story is a link to Brent’s builders log, it is a treasure of information and pictures, and it clearly documents how little time it took him to do each of the tasks, and total hours for different sections. The log is inarguable testimony that both the Panther airframe, and the Corvair engine can be built in a very reasonable amount of time.
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Above, Brent Mayo’s Panther LS, powered by a 3.000 cc Corvair. It is a done aircraft, awaiting only it’s FAA inspection. If Brent’s name rings a bell, it is because he was one of the five builders who finished and ran his engine at out first “finishing school” Get a look at this link and spend a few minutes looking at the video of the running engines. Brent’s engine was the first one to run, notice how quickly it starts and runs: Corvair Finishing School #1, Video report.
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OK, get a look at Brent’s builders log, and see that he has 104 hours under the engine category. Note that this includes installing everything ahead of the firewall. If you break out just the part with is assembling and test running the engine, the hours total only 34 for the assembly and 8 hours more for the test run at the finishing school.
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Conceding that any engine needs to be mounted, cowled, have a prop and spinner installed and be wired, then selecting a Corvair and building it for his plane only added 42 hours to Brent’s total build time. Over the years I have seen plenty of magazine articles saying that “choosing and alternative engine adds a year at least to your build.” While that might be so for a poorly supported engine that has never been mated to a particular airframe, it clearly doesn’t apply to the Corvair or installing on the Panther, or the other airframes we have long ago proven it on and support with installation components. The reality is that the decision to use the Corvair, and build it himself, didn’t cost Brent any significant amount of time in his build.
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42 hours is less than 6% of the total of 828 hours invested in the whole plane. But stop and think for a moment, that a Panther is one of the fastest planes on the market to build. There are plenty of other good planes out there, but many of them take more than 2,000 hours to build. If you built the same 42 hour Corvair for a plans built fabric covered plane that took 2,000 hours to build, the engine would constitute just 2% of the build time. So much for the “traditional wisdom of experts” who speak on line and at EAA meetings.
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But lets stop and consider what a builder gets who decides to invest 42 hours gets for his time. First, he knows the engine far better than any guy who just buys some imported engine in a box and bolts it on. Second, there is a great satisfaction in building your own engine. I have shaken the hand of 300 builders a moment after their engine started on my stand. You can literally feel a builders pride in their grasp at that moment, it is a genuine, and it is a moment that doesn’t happen for people who buy engines. These are the two best reasons for any builder to select a Corvair.
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A third reason is the title of this story: Consider for a moment, that Brent’s engine is an absolute first class engine that utilizes nearly every part in in the FlyCorvair and SPA/Panther catalog of parts. I am pretty sure it has more than $10K in parts in it. The next least expensive engine option is probably a Jabaru 3300, and because of exchange rates that engine is actually down in price, near $18K. Rotax and others are north of there, up to the UL-350 somewhere around $30K. They are all reasonably good engines, but just looking at the price vs the 42 hours, Brent saved between $100 and $400 per hour he invested in his Corvair build.
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BTW, the 42 hours isn’t a record. We have a number of people each year that come well prepped to Corvair Colleges, and fully assemble and test run engines in a two and a half day event. Before anyone remotely suggests such engines don’t involve learning or are less than perfect, let me say that I have seen these engines built and run, they are first class, and I was there when they were assembled and can attest that these guys were motivated to do their homework and learned a lot. Open minded people with a plan happen to write a lot of success stories in experimental aviation.
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Before anyone gets too upset or comes back with other calculations or alternatives, let me flat out say that people should use/buy/build which ever engine they like, and it has always been my policy that Corvairs are not for everyone, and I don’t portray them as such, I just say they are a very good option for the right builder. I have owned, built and flown behind many different engines, there are reasons for the right builder to own any of them. The whole purpose of the story is just to illustrate that you can build a Corvair is a short number of hours, it isn’t a significant portion of the total build hours, even on a really quick building plane like a Panther, in comparison to other popular engines it is economical, even when you select the highest end build, and the biggie, that there is a lot to be said for the learning and accomplishment of building an engine yourself.
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There is nothing wrong with a guy who has had a Corvair in his shop for years, and he enjoys tinkering with it. Building the motor isn’t a contest, it is a group of choices and actions that are supposed to teach you things and provide satisfaction when looking at the completed engine. But know this: I have seen countless guys spend years on internet discussion groups, following people who counsel making all manner of starters, hokey oil systems, and poorly thought out parts, all with the goal of making something ‘unique’ or saving some bucks. Even if that crap worked as well as the stuff we sell and teach people to use, (which it doesn’t) I can still make the case that it is a poor use of your life to spend five years making parts, when better stuff is available that bolts right together in 42 hours, proven systems you can trust. There is nothing ‘unique’ about making one off poorly thought out parts and finding out they cost nearly as much as our stuff, but discovering they don’t fit on your plane, you don’t trust them. This isn’t “unique” at all, people waste years of time and thousands of dollars doing this all the time. Want to do something that will set you apart? Make some smart choices, use proven stuff, build it according to our methods, and go out and enjoy it. In a world of people letting years slide by, deciding that you will not let that happen to you is a unique decision.
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The United States Bureau of Labor Statistics had the following data:
“–Watching TV was the leisure activity that occupied the most time (2.8
hours per day), accounting for more than half of leisure time, on average,
for those age 15 and over. “
2.8 hours a day is 1022 hours a year. That is far more time than Brent spent building is whole airplane. At that rate, it would have only taken him 15 days of TV watching to finish his engine. Is there really anything you saw on TV in the last to weeks that would make you feel like Brent did when his engine fired up?
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“There is a combination of simplicity/effort/money that can get a great number of people flying. You can be one of them, and the odds that you will be go up dramatically if you use my experience to avoid every mistake I made and paid for.”
from: Thought for the Day: Time…..Your enemy.
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Zenith 601’s at Corvair College #36
Builders,
Below, the Zenith 601XL’s of Pat and Mary Hoyt (yellow nose) and Lincoln Probst (blue). Although they are from Minnesota and Canada respectively, they both live in Texas now. They flew over for the college. Although it has been flying for seven or eight years, this was actually the first time I have seen Lincoln’s plane in person Both are powered by 2700cc 100 HP Corvairs, set up with all our standard parts.
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