Flying Planes – Page 2

03/12/201603/12/2016

Kevin Purtee and “The Hat of Power”

Builders:

Last week I wrote a story about the biggest character in the world of Corvairs: Ken “Adonis” Pavlou advises aviators: “Life is short, Live Large” . Today’s chapter in ‘Corvair personalities’ will get a look at the biggest badass in the Corvair movement, Kevin Purtee.

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Using the term ‘badass’ makes people think of a guy walking around with a lot of bravado, but that isn’t what I am speaking of. Kevin doesn’t look like a badass, he is one. In public he has a clean cut look, he has language your mother would approve of, and he has a collection of ‘Hello Kitty’ tee shirts. Under the thin veneer of polite public decorum is a warrior with 26 years of experience flying combat helicopters such as the AH-64 Apache. He finds obscure forms of martial arts entertaining, not to watch, but to participate in. While he places great value on sportsmanship, his super competitive nature as an ‘alpha dog’ shows up when anyone proposes a contest of any sort, but turns this off when inappropriate. The thread connecting many accomplishments in his life is seeking out difficult things and doing them in with great intensity. This includes building his own airframe and engine and flying them hundreds of hours. He is a great friend to have,,,,and may God have mercy on his enemies.

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All of this makes it very funny when Kevin wears my sock monkey hat, Aka “The Hat of Power.” It is a great visual twist that subtly says “I can wear this silly hat, or even a pink tutu if I wanted, and I would still be the biggest badass in the room.”

When you’re a badass like Kevin, any hat you wear is “The Hat of Power.” Read this to get a better look at his aviation professionalism: Thought for the Day: Two paths in managing risk

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Kevin’s nature likes some things to be turned into contests, and this can be very memorable entertainment, if you are a spectator. At Corvair College #32, he got the idea was that he and Mark Chouinard should stand shirtless in the prop blast and see who could take it longer. Mark bowed out, as shown in the photo above taken by Grace in the rain, snow and sleet, but Kevin wanted everyone to know that 36F and raining isn’t really that cold. Note the rain drops on the lens. Someone figured out that the wind chill in the prop blast was 90 below, even without the water cooling effect. He next time anyone asks if a Corvair college is a typical technical seminar, with power point presentations in the Holiday Inn banquet room, I will pull out this picture, it should cover the difference pretty well. This photo was part of the story about Kevin’s plane: Current Corvair Installation in a Pietenpol, Part 2

Kevin was in the first 100 people who bought a conversion manual from me, but I didn’t meet him in person for 13 more years, the day he flew his Pietenpol to Brodhead. This is exactly how I found him. On that day, Kevin had the left main gear on his Piet give out on a touch and go on a muddy spot on the field. With incredible cool and skill, he made a well planned landing on one wheel, after selecting the runway that allowed landing right into the wind. It was about 10 a.m. He was assisted by many members of the local Brodhead Gang, and the plane was back flying by the end of the day. A lot of people were very impressed by the chain of events. Kevin told me that he was moved beyond words by people he had never met before working diligently on his plane with him for eight solid hours. He was impressively positive, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. It was just the kind of attitude you would expect from a guy whose day job is flying combat helicopters.

Several years after the above photo, Kevin has a severe accident at the same airport, stemming from having water in the fuel. It was July, the week of Oshkosh. Grace and I went to see him and Shelley in his hospital room. He has a grocery list of damage that would have killed most people, including a smashed femur, collapsed lung, and needing his intestines resected. The doctor came in and said that with a years rehab, Kevin could walk again. Kevin responded by saying “I am going to f—ing run a 5K by November” The doctor smiled and turned to us and politely said “that is the morphine speaking” Shelley said, no, that is who he is everyday. True to his word, Kevin returned to flight status with the Military and ran the 5K by November. This story is my primary understanding of Kevin as a badass.

Kevin’s immerses himself in experimental aviation, he and Shelley putting the finishing touches on their own engine upgrade at Barnwell CC #27. Everyone 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, USAF.

Most people think of the words ‘narcissist’ or ‘selfish’ when the word badass is applied to someone. Kevin is the guy who proves they don’t have to be attached. At Corvair College #27, we presented Kevin and Shelley The Cherry Grove Trophy for their outstanding service to other builders in the Corvair movement. Although he is intense, Kevin channels this in the Corvair community to encourage others to operate with greater understanding and productivity.

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Here is an example of how the “The Hat of Power” doesn’t work for other people: Above, fellow Piet builder, 6’5″ Mark Chouinard donned the hat right after his engine ran at Corvair College #30, to test the hat’s ‘magic.’ Although Mark is a tough guy (his Facebook page has testimonials from numerous friends about his outstanding skills with belt-fed weapons in the Army), the Hat of power didn’t have the same effect on him as it does with Kevin. Mark remained his friendly self. With Kevin, it is like meeting captain ‘Quint’ from the film Jaws.

**Another example of the Hat not working:** In the case of Terry Hand, the Hat did more to bring out the wise-ass than the bad-ass. Terry has a wicked sense of humor, ‘refined’ by years in the Marine Corps. Above he is intentionally provoking an inter-service rivalry by wearing the “Hat of Power” normally reserved just for Kevin. This, like Mark trying it on, is a major protocol violation. This is what led to the shirtless artic contest with Mark. In Terry’s case Kevin is still dreaming up the ‘contest.’

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The photo above is from late at night, Barnwell College #31. Terry and fellow Marine Andy Shorter were joking around saying things like “The Marines have been sent in Force…Two….why so many?” We expect this stuff on the day before the birthday of the Corps (Nov. 10).

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Kevin lives two lives in aviation: His day job is piloting an Apache helicopter and his passion is his Pietenpol and his part in that community. Symbolic of his wearing two hats in aviation is the fact he’s wearing a sock monkey knit hat while making a serious point on his introduction speech at one of the four Corvair Colleges that He and Shelley Tumino have hosted.

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In a typical season of airshows, I meet thousands of people, and with them come a small handful of trolls, I am pretty good at dealing with them, but even after 27 years, some of them are still grating. Many years ago I unexpectedly found Kevin at the Brodhead Pietenpol fly in, he had just returned from a deployment and flown his plane up from Texas. It was about 7am, and we had just barely greeted each other, when a troll, an “professional homebuilder” came up and told Kevin that his airplane wasn’t right. Not a question of airworthy, the man who frequently criticized the planes of others on appearance, told Kevin that the cosmetics of his plane were not original nor ‘correct.’

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Kevin’s response was to put a big smile on his face and explain to the ‘professional’, that homebuilding to Kevin was just fun, and he didn’t do it as a ‘professional’ like the troll did, and Kevin’s plane only had to look right to him. Kevin looked they guy in the face and said he liked to keep his fun flying separate from his work flying, because “At work I kill people for a living”. Kevin gave him a friendly slap on the back and sent him along. I was impressed because it didn’t even raise Kevin’s blood pressure, he shrugged it off, explaining that tolerating that guy and trying to be nice to him would have been stressful, and sharing a different perspective was no problem at all.

If I have made Kevin sound rough and without charm, let the photo above be a correction. Kevin and Shelley, having dinner at the White House. Above, they sit in front of a portrait of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in the Vermeil Room. The event was to honor Iraq war veterans. Kevin was chosen to represent the State of Texas at the dinner. While his accomplishments in experimental aviation are a standout, it means a lot more when you consider that he spent most of his building years deployed.

-ww.

03/06/201603/06/2016

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

Builders,

In the Corvair movement, we have many characters, and space for plenty more, but no aviator in the world of Corvairs is a bigger character than Ken “Adonis” Pavlou……and this man has a simple message for his fellow aviators: Live Large.

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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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A bit of background: Ken was born in rural Greece, and he didn’t speak a word of English when he was 9 years old and entered the 4th grade in Connecticut. Ken shares the story of a slightly awkward kid with a lisp from the land which was the butt of many childhood jokes. Think you had a difficult day being the ‘new kid’? On his first day he brought a roasted goat’s head to school for lunch. But inside that small schoolboy surrounded by screaming classmates lived the indomitable sprit of a character who was destined to live life in one size only… large.

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Fast forward 35 years; Ken is literally a renaissance man, and insomniac-genius who packs two working days into every 24 hours and still has 8 hours to entertain himself. The happily married father of two, he is a critical care nurse and the state ballroom dancing champion of Connecticut. He is guru on electronics, mathematics, and finance. He professionally plays traditional Greek music, and much, much more…..Oh, yeah, and he built and flies his own plane, including building the engine for it. When Grace commented on Ken’s depth and breath of knowledge, he took a long drag on his cigarette and said **“The mind of Aristotle, but the Body of Adonis”** and so the most popular nickname was born.

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I have known Ken for 10 years. I met him when I was driving a plane on a trailer from Florida to Boston. I was exhausted, it was midnight and a giant snowstorm was starting. I was thinking of stopping at Ken’s. Within a few minutes Ken convinced me that the snow would clear I-95 of all the ‘amateur drivers’, we would have the whole road to ourselves, 4wd was crutch for lesser drivers, and we would make great time, be back by sunrise, and he knew a great diner we could hit on the way back. This was my introduction to Ken’s ‘live large’ concept. He took over when I drove too slow, rolled the windows down, chain smoked and told hilarious stories. In the decade since, I have never known the man to shrink from any adventure. He is a 300 pound bull in life’s china shop of timidity. After a lifetime of reading about Teddy Roosevelt, I believe a few days with Ken gave me far more insight into what TR’s world looked like.

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What do you do when you encounter a 300 pound Greek guy with an I.Q. of 160 and a wicked sense of humor? Make friends with him seems the best option. Ken is the very definition of infectious fun, a pied piper of things you thought you were too old to still do. You will laugh at stories like “the airport manager and the shovel” and “the 100 mph minivan”. While many ‘characters’ are a one hit wonder you quickly tire of, Ken is the opposite. Ask me about dressing him in a black suit and thin tie, putting a fez and wrap-around 1960’s sunglasses on him, and introducing him as “Kamal Mustafa, my attorney.” He is versatile, and always the center of the fun. He could give lessons on swagger to guys from the Dominican Republic. But through it all, he rolls with the motto “Life is short – Live Large”

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Many people Know Ken because he has flown is Corvair powered 601XL to events all over the country, nearly 400 hours on the meter in the first two years. This includes two trips to Oshkosh and a number of Colleges. We awarded him the Cherry Grove trophy in 2014 for is outstanding work behind the scenes supporting Corvair builders and the Colleges. In technical settings, he is a wealth of experience, assisting other builders, in social settings, he makes every evening memorable, right up to the point where people trying to keep up with him can’t remember what happened. At Oshkosh 2015, a number of friends all stayed at our tent late, after the cookout and night airshow. Several of them staged a misguided attempt to keep up with Ken. It was a beautiful night and lots of fun, and one by one I relieved them of their car keys after they traded a little stuffy dignity for youthful fun. It ended at 3am with just Ken and I awake. He then gave a very interesting take on the mistakes of Athens in the 2nd Peloponnesian war while we looked up at a starry night. At sunrise he made a big pot of coffee and revived our sleeping friends, saying “drink this, I’m a medical professional” , the same thing he had said at 2am.

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The point of this: Your workplace is filled with people who talk cool, but have lives that consist of fantasy football, drink special night at Applebee’s and talking crap about other people. When you mentioned building and flying your own plane, they mocked it and called it crazy, because they needed to disguise the fact they are scared little people and they almost wet their pants when you said it.

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Everyone building a plane should feel the same swagger as Ken, but sadly they don’t. They should walk around knowing they have set themselves apart from the masses, but instead they get side tracked by defensive ‘Geeky-ness’ brought on by the critique of non flying people. This is unfortunate and unnecessary. These people just need to channel their inner “Adonis”.

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The easiest place to see this is in builder discussion groups on line, and the common expression for it is endless talk, to the point of compulsive behavior, over “Saving weight.” Now don’t get me wrong, I know a lot about building planes and I am not advocating intentionally making them heavy, but it is easy to spot the new builder who is endlessly concerned about if his plane is ‘worth building at all’ if it is going to weigh 20 pounds more than others, which many without a flying plane have determined to be ‘ideal’ empty weight. This is sad, because they are concerned that the success of their project will be measured on a scale, with some number, determined by others to be a ‘failure’.

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Here is the real “failure” in homebuilding: If any builder misses the opportunity to understand that by merely choosing to build and fly his own plane, he has set himself apart from the timid people who were so afraid of ‘failing’ that they didn’t even get in the arena. Second, if a builder gets too comfortable as a perennial ‘builder’, taking their guidance from other perennial builders, fixtures on the net, rather than pilots who are finished and out there flying like Ken. The real failure is not adopting the mindset of Ken Pavlou, who is out there in the arena, having a great time, unconcerned about the judgments or others on the net. Homebuilding is your opportunity to live a facet of your life as a lion, and you will not experience this by exchanging emails on builders groups. If you are going to let others determine if you are a failure, just save yourself a lot of time and money and head back to Applebees with the rest of the co-workers.

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Read this: The installed weight difference between a Rotax 912 and a 3,000 cc Corvair is about 40 pounds. The installed weight difference between an FAA standard person and Ken Pavlou is about 130 pounds. If a new guy read the hand wringing on the net over how ‘terrible’ the performance of a 601 would be with 40 extra pounds, he would have to conclude that it would barely leave the ground with Ken, far less Ken and a Corvair, and not get airborne at all with Ken, a Corvair, a loaded airframe, and a passenger……and yet Ken has 380 flight hours on his plane, all saying his reality is more accurate than the theory of people making internet pronouncements over 40 pounds. Keep in mind that Ken is also using the smallest Corvair we suggest building, the 2,700cc engine.

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Much of what people say about weight on the net is wrong, or ridiculous oversimplifications: I have a degree from Embry-Riddle, and I was a stellar student on the subject of Performance. and I am in a good position to call BS on many things people say, including often quoted paragons like Tony Bingelis. He was a ‘nice guy’ and wrote useful tips, but he was out of his element on performance. His books are one of the chief sources keeping old wives tails alive. Look through his books and notice the complete lack of testing or calculation to back up his claims on props or weight. His statement saying that weight hurts a planes glide ratio is patently false. Weight of a plane affects sink rate, but has absolutely no effect on glide ratio, and this holds true for any plane, 601XL or B-52. If you doubt me on this, go ask any competition sailplane pilot why they add water ballast in a sport where glide ratio is everything.

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Another example: “If a 912 is 40 pounds less than a Corvair, the 912 will have 40 pounds more useful load right?” This is a ridiculous oversimplification, and not usefully true. To actually understand aircraft performance is to know that planes can “Gross out, cube out or CG out”. This means that the limit, depending on the specific case loading, can be set by the plane reaching it’s gross weight, running out of interior volume, or running out of the aft limit on the CG range. Anyone who makes a statement about useful load without checking the specific case of this last factor is not qualified to be giving you comparative advise, period. I put a lot of work into designing our Corvair installation in 2003 to insure that it’s maximum take off weight was not limited by reaching it’s aft CG limit. I flew our 601XL at 1525 pounds (on a 105F day), and it was safe because it was in CG. Ken’s plane will not reach the aft limit until the plane weighs 1625 pounds, and it has been flight tested at such weight. Anyone on the net tempted to argue CG with me should review some of my credentials on the subject: Pietenpol Weight and Balance project. It is a topic I know very well.

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If you are sitting at home reading this in front of a Computer, and anyone has said something about the weight of ‘auto engines’ that has made you reluctant to have faith in yours, understand that those people don’t known enough to give you advice, and we have plenty of flying examples like this: 16 Flying Corvair powered Zenith 601/ 650s to prove my point.

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If you are sitting at home reading this in front of a Computer, and like most American men in homebuilding, you weigh a lot more than the FAA imaginary 170 pound person, don’t let any techno-geek posting how critical he thinks 5 pounds it to the ‘success’ of a homebuilt affect your positive determination to build, finish and fly your plane. The whole point of homebuilding is to get you to the self reliant mindset, where you follow positive flying examples rather than listen to people who still live in a world of doubt and fear. You deserve to have your own adventures like this: 1,500 mile Corvair College flight in a 601XL , and when your plane done and proven, and you fly to a College or Oshkosh, and are greeted by the warm welcome of others who rejected the negative techno-geeks, I have only one further suggestion, If Ken is there, don’t let him talk you into “just one small glass of tequila.”

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Above, A 2014 picture of the five Corvair powered Zeniths that flew into Corvair College #30, all parked for a photo in front of the Zenith Factory The engine installation on these planes are clones of the one we developed in our own 601XL 12 years ago. Read more here: Corvair College #30 Good Times and here: Corvair College #30 Running Engines

-ww.

04/26/201504/26/2015

Corvair College #33, Mid Florida at Eustis Airport, April 17-19, 2015

Builders, here is a photo report on Corvair College #33:

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The major change in this year’s spring Florida College was the location: With just 19 days to go, we opted to change from the county airport we had planned on, to a privately owned, public use grass airport just 14 miles away. The shift turned out to be an excellent improvement, and made all the difference in the experience of Corvair College #33.

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Above, Bob Lester’s Pietenpol at CC #33, with the Ercoupe and a Luscombe in the background. Bob gave an intro flight to almost all of the Pietenpol builders on hand. The airport is our new spring College location, Mid Florida at Eustis.

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Our new location’s full name Is “Mid Florida at Eustis.” It is a privately owned, public use, grass airport, with beautifully kept grounds. It is in the 12 o’clock position on the extreme northern perimeter of the greater Orlando area. Its identifier is X55. It is an airport completely focused on flying for pleasure and sport.

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Because of its private ownership, it is an integrated part of the neighborhood where it is located; entering the airport grounds is like finding a welcome park, in contrast to the fencing, gates and barbed wire that most county airports have adopted in the past decade. Our Colleges are educational, friendly and social events. They fit in much better at a grass airport than one that could be mistaken for a maximum security prison.

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As nice as the location is, it is the ownership and management of Mid Florida at Eustis that sets the airport atmosphere, and makes it a standout. The field is owned by a gentleman universally known as “Rama.” In person he is very modest, but clearly of considerable personal success. He speaks of the airport, with its tree-lined green grounds, as an important peaceful refuge from a hectic world. I had a single 20-minute meeting with him to explain what a Corvair College was, and he was captivated by the idea, and immediately made his facility and staff available to us. It struck me as the way of traditional aviation; a meeting of ideas, a handshake, and on to progress.

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Rex Wyatt, the airport manager, took every effort to support our College. In an era where many counties find their airport manager by calling HR and asking for any bureaucrat with an MBA, Rex is a reminder of the time when the title “Airport Manager” was reserved for the most experienced aviator on the field, a friendly but firm man of character. He is also quietly modest, but in conversation it is revealed that he flew F-84Fs, helicopters out of Pleiku, and continues to this day flying corporate jets. On the lighter side, he has an impressive GA background that includes being a longtime EAA member and having an enviable collection of classic American light aircraft. With some quiet pride, he shared that his grandson will shortly be attending Embry-Riddle. Having a manager with this depth of experience sets the tone for a friendly, but professional location.

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The airport provided spacious grassy camping areas shaded by live oak trees, next to a small lake. They set us up in a clean hangar, put up a large tent as a dining hall, and provided for every detail. The groundskeeper, Mr. Leroy, who lives adjacent to the airport, was available 24/7 throughout the event. He attended to the smallest point, such as finely mowing the camping area. When I tried to explain to him that Corvair builders were low key and didn’t require “the red carpet,” he smiled and simply said, “Rama said you were to be welcomed here,” and went back to his work. This welcome is part of Rama’s personal philosophy and has nothing to do with economics; the hangars are near full occupancy, they do not sell fuel, and there was little expectation that many of the College builders would be back before next year. I spent some time thinking about how these men were solely motivated by a basic pride in their airport and its good reputation, the factor that makes all the difference.

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Above, first day of the College, builders gather around for a detailed inspection and discussion of rocker arms. Corvair Colleges are a mixture of small group discussions and individual progress.

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Some Colleges have many cores being taken down, others have lots of engine going to the test stand. #33 saw many of the former, a good indication that we always have many new people getting started in the Corvair movement. My sidekick, Vern Stevenson on the left, and 750 builder Lane Seidel on the right. Lane has been to a number of Colleges, and having worked in nuclear power operations for decades, he has a professional’s take on procedures and quality control that fits well with aviation.

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Above, a number of case assemblies were closed at the College, and I gave a demonstration on installing a Weseman 5th bearing on Saturday morning, which was replicated by a number of builders on their own engines. I keep a Weseman installation kit in my College tool box. It was supplied by Dan and Rachel to assist us in showing builders how to install their bearings at Colleges. Their builders who work at home can borrow an identical field kit from them. Even builders who just came to observe saw how simple the installation was.

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It was warm weather, and dining outside made more sense. Everyone who signed up was fed catered food all weekend and all they could drink, all out of our modest fee. 100% of the collected money goes right back into the event directly. Central Florida has many well known BBQ houses, and Grace selected Black Bear Smokehouse to provide us with vats of pulled pork and brisket, and plenty of side dishes.

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Hot weather isn’t really conducive to gorging one’s self, but builders at the College did a great job anyway, loading up on seconds. All the breakfasts were catered by the local Bob Evans, because eating BBQ three meals a day isn’t considered a balanced diet in today’s nutritional guidelines.

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The smaller nature of #33 led to a lot of close attention between myself and builders. Even at big Colleges like Barnwell, I meet with every builder personally, but #33 afforded more individual time. The spiffy new wash tank is part of my program of buying 4 of many of the pieces of College equipment and leaving them on site for the following year. Before the College, Vern, Lynn Dingfelder and myself made eight new 4’x8′ tables that can be disassembled and packed for any College where we need to assure space for more builders. They are sturdy enough to have 4 engines built on them at the same time.

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Pictured above are 12 cases, already chemically cleaned and machined to accept 3,000 cc cylinders. A number of builders sent their case in advance, and we processed it and they picked it up and started assembling it at the College. The price of this is included in the 3,000 cc kits we sell, but we are glad to break it out as a separate $300 charge, to allow builders to budget closing the case, and pay the balance of the piston, cylinder and rod kit later.

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Out of the blue, the early Corvair convertible above showed up 3 hangars down – the owner had no idea that there were 36 other Corvair engines 200 feet away.

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Above, on Saturday night after dinner, we had an “unplugged” gig from our friend Ron Thomas and his friend Ren. (The full band goes by the name “Afterburner.”) They covered a number of tunes from the 1970s, including a powerful version of the song “Sandman” by the band America. Ron, who is singing above, is a native of New Orleans, and has made a living in music all his life.

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Ron has met a number of Corvair builders at our Oshkosh booth over the past two years. He is a pilot, an Ercoupe owner and fan, just getting to know experimentals. At Oshkosh 2013, he met Pat and Mary Hoyt when they flew in with their yellow and polished 601XL. At Oshkosh 2014, Ron got out of his truck after driving 1,300 miles solo, walked past a yellow and polished RV-12 being filmed, mistook it for Pat and Mary’s plane, and promptly said to the guy in front of the camera, “Dude, Pat and Mary, what great people! These Corvair/Zeniths rock!” Ron said the guy being filmed had some kind of childish negative reaction. I later walked down to the Van’s aircraft booth with Ron, and when he pointed the guy out, I thought it was funny because it was Richard VanGrunsven.

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Above, Fisher celebrity builder Skip Beattie, Grace and myself in front of the hangar. Vern’s “Aerotrike” nose on the left in the picture.

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Above, late night Scoob E sits in his chair while the three rules sign is displayed. Grace painted this several years ago, and it has been to all colleges since. The top is self explanatory: Politics is not an allowable topic of conversation. The second isn’t in the same context that John Lenon used it in the song Imagine, We use it in the sense that I consider faith a private matter, and the diversity of builders at the Colleges means that it is merely good manners to be quietly respectful of others. Anyone who has attended any of the 5 Colleges in Barnwell knows that P.F. Beck and crew start the dinner with a prayer to give thanks and a moment of silence to remember those past. The two words on the sign are to remind a small number of people the popular understanding of the term “Pious” implied a faith that was evident in deeds, and not spoken of. The third line is a reference to the notion that you can’t build a good American engine with torque wrenches made in a police state like the People’s Republic of China.

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Above, dinner time in the chow tent. Vern Stevenson is standing in the red shirt, his Aerotrike, half Lancair 320 and half Geo Metro, is in the background. It has 18,000 miles on it now. Under Florida’s open minded Motor Vehicle code, it is considered a motorcycle. Behind it is its custom tiny 4×8′ 5th wheel trailer Vern built for it.

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Above, gratuitous dog photo. Scoob E was very happy to be at the College, but 7am on Sunday, he makes the “get started without me” face.

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The Last Man Standing Photo: From left above are Lane Seidel, Jack Reynolds, Grace and Scoob E, Richard Tomanio, Lynn Dingfelder, Bill Reynolds and Robert Audsley. Colleges have a tradition of a handful of builders staying late to get in the last wrenching and assist with the pack up. This crew was great assistance.

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If it looks like it was fun and productive, that is because it was. We are looking forward to another College in Eustis next year. Don’t miss it. -ww.

01/25/201501/25/2015

Gary Boothe’s Pietenpol, flying video

Builders,

Here is a link to a 5 minute You-tube video of Gary Boothe flying his Corvair powered Pietenpol around the pattern in his home state of California:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3aWGxwgSuw

Above, Gary stands with the plane in a rear quarter view. It is a beautiful period piece of aviation, but it utilizes a fully up to date Corvair engine with electric start and a 5th bearing.

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Above, One of my favorite photos of the Corvair movement, Gary Boothe on the left and Patrick Hoyt on the right point to their hometowns on a map at Brodhead in 2009. These two builders are featured in this story and the one before. They are both out flying and having a great time in planes they built, powered by engines they built. I know them both, they are different individuals, but they share the fundamental perspective that homebuilding should be distilled to “Learn, build and Fly.”

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To get the background of Gary’s building and flying, read this:

New Pietenpol, Gary Boothe, Cool, Calif.

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01/05/201501/08/2015

Waiting for the bus from Unicorntown to Cyberville

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Many people want to believe that some new product in aviation will arrive and ‘revolutionize’ everything. I think the root of this fantasy is that they would like the work and learning to be removed and save them the effort required to stand in front of a machine and say “I built this plane.” I have been in aviation for 25 years, I have seen 25 seasons of ‘revolutionary!’ things come and go with little or no affect on accessibility to flight for working Americans.

I have watched many of the same people get taken in by a new ‘revolutionary!’ idea every few years, never seeing that they would have been long flying if they had just given up on ‘new revolutionary!’ products with lottery ticket odds of success, and instead embraced the philosophy of proven designs with a track record in place of a promise. These people often willfully ignore that the providers of this years miracle product are frequently the same people behind a previously promoted miracle.

( I have published some elements of this before, but it is worth reading at the start of a new year, now when the is an opportunity to consider and plan for 2015. I guarantee progress for people who plan and work, people who choose to wait also have a guarantee: that nothing will happen.-ww. )

Above, Phil Maxon’s 601XL airborne over the Florida coast at Ponce Inlet, 2006. Phil started the kit in NJ in 2000, worked on it until bringing it down to our hangar at the end of 2005 for engine installation, inspection and having it’s test time flown off. It was the second Corvair powered 601XL, after our own.

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Phil has a very busy life as a husband, father, corporate program manager, and community member. He did not neglect these commitments, he fit the kit in around them. Five years may sound like a long time, but consider that he has now had the aircraft flying for 8 years of adventures. This includes many long trips, perfect flights, and moments that last a lifetime. He is a vastly more knowledgeable mechanic now, and something of a motorhead. He did not endlessly look for a short cut. Conversely, he studied his options, made a plan, and stuck with it. The golden rule of homebuilding: Persistence Pays. Read more at this link: Phil Maxson goes to 3,000 cc for his 601XL

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Getting out the book, rolling up ones sleeves and getting your hands dirty is a serious act of self-empowerment, the acknowledgement that your own aircraft will only come from your understanding and labor. There is no ‘miracle, revolutionary, high tech’ white knight solution that will arrive at your shop and suddenly provide you with access to the world of personal experimental flight without learning and work. Yet, this year, as all previous years, we will see a majority of potential builders sit and wait and exchange rumors of the imminent arrival of their white knight. Often their adherence to this philosophy is absolute, they will still be waiting many years from now,when the last page of their story is written.

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Here is my perspective: Aviation costs money. About the least expensive plane I can picture has an all up cost of $10,000. Let’s say that you take 8 years to build it, that’s $1,250/year or $3 and 42 cents a day. If you smoke or drink coffee, you spend a lot more than this. Don’t like to hear about 8 years? Want to change that? Here is the easy way: Do nothing this year, and next year it will be nine years. $20 a day for 3 years is $21,900. For that kind of money you can have many airplanes. Being wealthy isn’t the key, getting started is.

Take this thought with you: You can’t really change the cost of planes by more than 25% or 35% even by extreme scrounging and plans building. There is no way to drop the cost by 75%, stuff just costs money at some point. Here is what you do control: What you get out of building and flying. Picture two guys, both spend 4 years, and 2,000 hours building a plane, and 50 hours aloft and 200 studying to get a LSA rating. It’s five years into it. If guy “A” was a super scrounger, bought a used kit and spent only $20K vs guy “B” who spent $34K for the same plane by purchasing a kit and getting all his parts from Aircraft Spruce instead of the flymart, Which builder got the better value? Who won?

The correct answer: The guy who actually mastered each skill, learned the why’s of every step, didn’t just do every task to minimums, but aimed to master it. The guy who sought to know every piece and part of his plane and its correct care, feeding and operation. He aimed higher, did more. He has been changed by the experience, the guy who just did the minimums only accomplished the task, but it wasn’t transformative. Real value isn’t based just on what it cost, it is far more affected by the other side of the equation…what did you get out of it? On this point, the majority of builders cheat themselves. Reading the book Stick and Rudder is all about aiming to get the best value out of the hours of your life you invest in homebuilding and flying. The book is for aviators who will master light plane flight, not just be adequate at it. Use this pattern in everything you do in aviation. It is far better to be the master of a simplified plane and flight plan than just barely in control of a set of circumstances. Let aviation be the part of your life without compromise.

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Years ago I was a contributor to a large Internet discussion group. If you read the archives, I left 400 stories there, before I was banned for life due to poor etiquette. In retrospect, most of my time there was wasted. In 10 years, the site produced only a handful of flyers, most of whom were already regular builders of ours. The great majority of the several hundred readers there were just doing one thing: Waiting.

What for you ask? Something better than what I was showing them could be done. I was basically showing how a very good engine that weighed 225 pounds, cost $5,000, burned 5 gallons an hour, and lasted 1,000 hours could be built, if you were willing to learn a little and get your hands dirty, and think some. Yet the vast majority of readers thought that was not good enough. Every time some troll/daydreamer/psycho surfaced and said “I know how to save 35 pounds!” they waited to see how he would do it. When people said “I know how to have an EFI system for $200,” they waited to see how it worked. When people said “We can use shareware and develop this as a Net group,” people waited. Every new thing discussed, virtually all of which turned out to be pure unicorns, was cause for these men to wait.

Their waiting is partially driven by the “consumer electronics experience.” To these people, their cell phones were vastly better and far cheaper than the ones they had 10 years before, why shouldn’t they expect the same from Corvairs? Because it is the mechanical world, not electronics, and it doesn’t work that way in metal, and things that you can fly. Popular Mechanics has been telling readers for 60 years that personal helicopters are 2 years away, People who wait eat this stuff up as the sand runs out of their personal hour-glass.

Many of the ones who were there 10 years ago are still there waiting, certain that this week, someone will show up and tell them how to build a 170 pound Corvair that has EFI, is reliable, burns 2.5 gallons per hour, makes 130 hp, assembles itself, lasts 2,500 hours for an investment of $1,500, no check that, $995. They will be waiting there in another 10 years because that bus isn’t ever going to come. The rainbow bus line from Unicorntown doesn’t have a stop on reality street, it only is headed to cyberville, and there is no airport in cyberville.

Decide tonight that you will not be one of these people.

Corvair College #32, Texas, 27 Feb. 2015

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-ww.

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3,000 cc Panther flight videos

Builders,

Rachel Weseman just put up a video link on the Panther website of 7 minutes of Dan flying very smooth aerobatics in the panther, from the point of view of a Go pro camera mounted on the wing. It is a very nice piece of work, you can find it on their site at this link:

http://flywithspa.com/happy-thanksgiving-from-spa/

If you have any issue getting it to load, you can also access it directly on youtube at this link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byqO0t82bF0#t=180

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It is worth considering that I always told people that you could do a loop spin and a roll, and many other basic aerobatic maneuvers with a Corvair with our standard oil system, without any issue, the engine would not lose oil pressure. A number of people on internet discussion groups, people with no flight experience in Corvairs nor an understanding of what a coordinated turn is, vocally claimed otherwise. I know the video will not convince them, but hopefully it will show any open-minded builder that the gold oil systems really do work for 99.5% of the flying homebuilders do.

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For another very interesting video by Rachel, get a look at the Panther flying in formation with 180 HP Lycoming RV’s:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXuZKH4C1Zk

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You can also get a look at air to air video of Ron Lendon’s 2,850cc 601XL, shot from the Panther at Barnwell College #27:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeliNRl-7g0

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Above, a rear view of the engine. Behind the harmonic balancer is an alternator driven off the crank through a flexible coupler. The Weseman’s sell this directly, but the system is integrated into our manual/numbering system as P/N 2950. It retains the balancer and cannot put bending loads on the crank.

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I have never been a fan of belts on the back of the engine, but this system does not use one. The alternator is the same Yanmar unit we traditional use on the front of the engine. Although it is driven at crank speed, the unit makes it’s full output by any flight rpm, and the output exceeds the needs of almost all Corvair powered planes.

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There is a misconception that having the alternator on the back improves cooling. Back to back tests showed that the change was negligible. Many things on experimental aircraft cannot be ‘eyeball judged.’ They have to be tested. Anything that involves airflow or aerodynamics can not be reliably evaluated by eye. The primary attribute of the rear alternator is simplicity, and it allows a slightly narrower cowl line on single seat and tandem seating planes. If you are building a plane with J-3 ‘eyebrow’ cooling scoops, it is easier to fabricate the ductwork with the alternator in the back, but it has been done both ways.

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For further reading:

Corvair power for Panther and Sonex reference page

You can read all the detailed information on the SPA website at this link:

http://flywithspa.com/panther.html.

11/20/201411/21/2014

Dale Williams – 3,000 cc Cleanex at CC#31

Builders:

If you are a regular reader of this page, you will recognize the name Dale Williams as the builder and pilot of a very nice 3,000 cc Cleanex. Dale often writes very thought provoking and factual statements in the comments section of stories. He has a long GA background and an easy going approach, but he is serious about risk management and having a good time. I frequently hear from new builders in South Carolina who cite Dale as the influence that steered them to Corvairs.

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An interesting trick: Although I can count the amount of hours I have spent with the man in conversation on one hand, and have read less than 4,000 words from him in posts and email, I still feel like I know him very well. In this instance, it is quality, not quantity that makes the difference.

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CC#31 was the second Corvair College that Dale flew his plane to. We are looking forward to having him at many more. Good company is always welcome. -ww.

Above, Dale stands in front of his Cleanex. Bob Lester’s Corvair-Piet in the Background

Above a small sticker on the forward fuselage suggests Dale’s sense of humor.

Above, right hand view of the plane. Don Harper and P.F. Becks Corvair-Piets in the background, Mark Langford’s VW powered KR2 is beside it.

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For more information on Dales plane, read:

New 3,000 cc Cleanex, Dale Williams, SC

and the very moving:

Video of Grandson’s first flight, 3,000cc Cleanex:

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11/13/2014

1,500 mile Corvair College flight in a 601XL

Builders,

Below is a story with great photos written by Ken Pavlou, of flying a Corvair/601XL from Connecticut to Barnwell SC and back last week. For people who question the capability of light sport qualified home built aircraft, especially ones with converted auto engines, it will be an eye opener. Get a good look at the photos Ken took while directly overflying JFK airport at 5,500′ at night, it is a nice view of lower Manhattan:

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https://kenpavlou.wordpress.com/2014/11/12/corvair-college-31-barnwell-sc/.

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In recent weeks, I have written here about several Corvair powered Zeniths that were needlessly damaged or destroyed on their first flight in the stories: Understanding Flying Corvairs Pt. #6, 98% DNA not enough. and How I became a genius in 6 minutes. Reading Ken’s story above, I want everyone to understand what a Corvair powered Zenith is really capable of, and that the people who damaged or destroyed their planes were not victims of ‘bad luck’ nor their selection of engine to work with. They were victims of two things that are 100% avoidable, even to brand new pilots: The willful decision not to follow what has been demonstrated to work and the failure to exercise good judgment and operate the plane by proven methods.

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Ken Pavlou has no special advantage over the people who made decisions that lead to their failures. He is critical care nurse, not a mechanic, and he does not come from a flying family. In a story that should stir the heart of any American, Ken’s family emigrated from Greece when he was 8 in 1975. They didn’t speak the language and were arriving as a modern form of indentured workers. The fact that the same shy child is today a husband, father, outstanding healthcare professional, a tireless contributor to all he is a part of, and now flying the plane and engine he built, speaks volumes about the opportunity for real effort and hard work to be rewarded in this country.

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Flying over New York City at night is not part of my personal goals in Corvair Powered aviation, but I want everyone to know that the machinery as we teach people to build and use it, is capable, and there is no reason to build nor operate it to a lower standard, even if you choose to operate in far less demanding settings. If you are new to home building and flying, know this: who you follow and spend time with matters. In my work and at the Colleges I highlight the work, perspective and success of builders like Ken rather than the fringe element toiling on ideas with little chance of working. Take your pick, follow either path, but know in advance that they do not lead to the same destination.

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Above, Ken with his plane on the flight line at Oshkosh 2014. The machine is impressive, the man, much more so. Ken is the kind of friend I always wanted to have in my life, but very rarely found. I cannot be unique in this, I am sure that most of Ken’s friends have spent some time considering that he is a better friend than most of us deserve. Ken’s standards of friendship challenge you to live up to your side of the bargain. -ww.

09/09/2014

Coast to Coast and back in Corvair powered KR-2S

Builders,

I received a quick Email from Joe Horton of PA, saying that he was back on the East Coast. This year the KR gathering was held in Chino CA instead of it’s usual central US location. Joe, who is nearing 1,000 hrs. on his 3,100cc KR-2S, decided to fly all the way out and back to see friends, demonstrate the capability of good homebuilts, and to have another good adventure. Read more about Joe and his plane at this link: KR-2S at 700 Hours – Joe Horton. The note below is from Joe:

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William- enclosed is a brief caption of my flight to Chino. The engine performed flawlessly for the entire flight, not that I didn’t worry a bit while over flying some of the wildest country that you can find. I will write up an article when I get a chance. Best

Joe Horton

“Alrighty Guys,I arrived home by air at 3 pm eastern time. A few of the statistics

are (not exact as I am just figuring them out now) About 5000 miles flown over a five

day period. 13 airports and 9 of them new to me. 36 hours in the air. longest leg about 4

hours or nearly 600 miles. About 170 gals of fuel burned. average fuel burn about 4.7

gal per hour. average ground speed 139mph. I did not see a tail wind anywhere in all of

this flying.”

Above, Joe Horton, 3,100cc/ Weseman bearing – KR-2S builder from PA, with Grace at Corvair College #21 . This was the 8th College that Joe had flow to. He has also flown to Sun ‘N Fun, the KR gathering and Oshkosh several times each. In 2010, we awarded him the Cherry Grove Trophy at CC#19 for his work promoting Corvair powered flight.

In the above photo stand the four pilots who have their names engraved on the Cherry Grove Trophy. Left to right are Joe Horton, 2010, Dan Weseman, 2009, P.F. Beck, 2011, and Mark Langford, 2008.

Blast from the past, Corvair College #20: Pilots of Corvair College #20, from left to right: Lynn Dingfelder, Joe Horton, Mark Langford, and Dr. Gary Ray.

Above, Joe at CC#14. I have long listened to his counsel because he is truly a man In The Arena. His outgoing nature and his travels far and wide give him a valuable perspective on the movement. Many people new to Corvairs have the false expectation that the engine is another consumer product. Joe is living proof that you will get the most out of the Corvair movement when you regard it as an opportunity to learn, build and fly, in a movement which happens to have some very inexpensive hardware. His aviation focus on Self Reliance has a common thread that extends back through Lindbergh all the way to the Wright brothers.

Above, Joe Horton flew down to CC#16 in South Carolina. Many builders who have not yet met him in person still know something about his perspectives and values because they have read his article in our flight operations manual.

Above, Joe’s plane at Sun n Fun 2007. He won the long distance award for Corvairs with a flight of nearly 1,000 miles in N357CJ, above. Joe’s KR is a stretched S model with the new airfoils. His 3,100cc Corvair turns a 54×60 Sensenich. This gives him a top speed of more than 170 mph.

Here’s a shot of Joe’s KR-2S at AirVenture 2007

Above a warm but happy Joe Horton after his arrival at Sun ‘N Fun 2009 via KR/VAIR N357CJ. His KR-2S trip to Sun ‘N Fun was one leg of a 4,000 mile East Coast tour that he did in a few days of flying. He wrote a very nice summary of it upon his return home, pointing out he’d flown as high as 17,000’ on his way home to Pennsylvania. (He has O2) He noted that the plane would still climb several hundred feet per minute at that altitude and this is the definition of reserve power in a naturally aspirated airplane.

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Hats off to Joe Horton for the latest chapter in a long story of adventure.

07/14/201407/14/2014

Zenith 601XL flying at night, cockpit video.

Builders:

The very impressive video linked to below is the work of 601XL-2,700cc Corvair builder and flyer Ken Pavlou, of Connecticut. He finished his plane barely 2 months ago, but now has 70 flawless hours on it. He is flying the plane to Oshkosh in 2 weeks.

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Left to right, Three Corvair powered Zenith 601XL’s. Ken Pavlou, Roger Pritchard and Louis Leung’s planes in a row.

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The seven minute video of the flight can be found at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afIoeM6tqTE .

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Pictured is Ken’s night landing at Groton – New London airport. The minutes approaching the airport were from the west over Niantic and Waterford. Ken told me the basic altitude was about 1000 feet and he was cruising at 115 mph indicated. You can also watch video of Ken’s first flight at this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nK01KhG2CkE&feature=youtu.be

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Stop and think about how many times you have heard someone tell you that auto engine were not reliable, and can’t be made to fly in planes. Look at Ken’s plane, think about it’s flawless performance, and realize that every blow hard that told you it wouldn’t work, simply didn’t know what he was talking about…..although that isn’t an impediment to them talking.

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Ken isn’t an A&P from a flying family dynasty. Quite the contrary, he is a registered nurse who grew up in Greece. Gravity physics and chemistry don’t play favorites, they will work for anyone who plays by their rules, and this trio will provide total reliability for people who use good judgment and work with proven designs. Success identical to Ken’s is available to anyone who is willing to learn with an open mind, it is not reserved for ‘special’ people. Experience with aircraft only helps the builder with judgment and a plan, it will not provide success for, nor protect the person who will not listen, consider, and learn. This is, and will always remain, lesson #1 in homebuilding.