Category: Uncategorized

Builders:

Lets look at the Groups involved:

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1000  The Crankshaft Group

1100 The Camshaft Group

1200 The Case Group

2000 Rear oil Case Group

2100 Harmonic Balancer Group

2400 Starter Group

2500 Hub Group

3000 Weseman 5th bearing Group

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OK, to get to what I call a “Complete Closed Case” a builder needs everything from each of the above groups. Not all of it comes from us. Some of it is from the Core, Some from the Wesemans, and some from Clark’s. The most important thing is to look at every individual part number, and make sure you have all of them on hand before you go after assembling the case at a College or home. Being at a college, but not having a set of main bearings, effectively prevents you from getting anywhere on the case. Usually someone has a spare set, but don’t count on it, come prepared.

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1001- Crank -A (8409 GM) or -B (Weseman new Billet)

1002- Crank gear

1003- Crank gear key

1004- Crank gear gasket

1005- Rear keys -2-

1006- Fuel pump eccentric

1007- Spacer

1008- Bronze distributor drive gear

1009- Oil slinger

1010- Main bearings

1011- Connecting rod bearings

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OK. If the goal is to close the case, and you send your stock core crank to the Wesemans at SPA for processing into a Gen 1 5th bearing crank, it is going to come back with #’s 1001-A through #1004. You will need to #1005 keys, and #1006-#1009, are just cleaned up off your core engine. CRITICALLY, you must get a main bearing set that matches the grind on your crank. Ie, if the crank is ground .010″ under, you need “10 under mains.” for bearings. These do not come with the crank.  #1011 are the rod bearings, and they must also match the crank grind, but you will not need them to get to a “Completely Closed Case.”  You can take this link: http://flywithspa.com/corvaircomponents/new5thbearingcrankshaft.html directly to Dan and Rachel’s site for crankshaft rework information.

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Cam group (1100)

1101- Cam

1102- Thrust washer

1103- Key

1104- Cam gear

1105- Hydraulic lifter set -12 total-

1106- Cam lubricant

1107- ZDDP oil additive

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At a College, we do not have the capability of installing a cam gear. Thus #1101 through 1104 have to get there assembled correctly. I have written about this in : Cam Washer, looking for a gray area. No kidding, I am not going to assist people in building motors at colleges with loose cam washers. If you are coming to the next college, and you have a cam with a loose washer, send it to me ASAP, and I will fix it (it will cost money, I am going to ‘kill’ the gear and replace it) and bring it to the college, The solution that most people are choosing these days is to just get the entire contents of the 1100 Group from us: 1100-WW Camshaft Group. To close the case you will need #1006, but you will not need #1005 and #1007 until later.

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Case Group (1200)

1201- Case -2 halves with studs-

1202- Main case bolts  and nuts-8-

1203- Pipe plugs for oil galleries -2-

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Here we have a tiny group, the Case.Now, there are a lot of notes that can be applied here, but keep in mind we are just looking at the overview big picture. The one note that I want to point out is that the case has no machine work on a 2700/2850 but the six bores in the case for the cylinders must be machined larger on a 3,000 cc engine. Of course, this is done before it is assembled. If you are going to build a 3,000cc engine, you must ship me the case in advance of the college, so I can have it machined. Some advance planning is in order, I can’t do this a week before the event. I have the ability to fix one or two head studs per case at the college, but if you need more than that, consider shipping the case to us in advance. If you send us a dirty case, we can have it cleaned, but it does cost $100. We have a wash tank at colleges, but it is for final cleaning, not degreasing stuff that should have arrived clean.

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Now, let’s get a look at the four parts in the group and think about putting a case together. Using just these numbers as a check list and something of a road map, any builder can put together a plan to assemble their case at a Corvair College Actually all the effort to get to that stage goes into the prep work, cleaning and a little shopping. It you lay out all the properly prepared components from groups 1000, 1100 and 1200 in front of me on the bench, and get me an assembly stand and my trusty Snap-on torque wrench “Excalibur“, I can assemble the case in about 45 minutes.

Now I say this in bad conscience because I once took 2 days to do it.  There was a tiny ding in one of the bearing surfaces that was putting a small amount of extra drag on the turning crank and bothering me. I took it apart 6 times to find it and make it right. Keep in mind, it’s not a contest, the winning score is being happy with it, and any amount of time it takes between 45 minutes and 48 hours is fine. BTW, everything we are talking about here is in our engine assembly DVD #1 that covers building up a case.

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…. on to part #3

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Builders,

Today we are 1 month away from Corvair College #33. A number of builders who have signed up are coming to close their case, and get ‘over the hump’ of getting the first third of their engine done. This series will highlight the steps in this process, and provide specific guidance. If you are planning on attending CC#33, keep in mind that we will close the sign up in just over 10 days, and the event is already 50% full. Read more on signing up here: Corvair College #33 sign up now open:

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18 months ago, I wrote a long series on options of getting started building your Corvair. The page containing the links to the 20 individual stories can be found here: Getting Started Reference page. The information is good, it needs only small revisions to bring it fully up to date, but it is well worth reading over an evening or two, so each builder can look at the options and map out his own plan.  In this series, I am going to look at only the two most popular options for closing a case, building a 3,000cc case set up for a Weseman Gen 2 bearing, and building a 2700cc case set up with a Weseman Gen 1 bearing.  The closest stories to these two options are Getting Started in 2013, Part #7, ‘Chas. Charlie’ Short Block and Getting Started in 2013, Part #5, ‘Allan Able’ short block. respectively. In the series we will update and detail each of these approaches.

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Fundamental to understanding our information here, is getting better acquainted with our numbering system. The new manual is based on it, as is our products page: ( http://www.flycorvair.com/products.html ) The Groups we will be working with are the following:

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1000  The Crankshaft Group

1100 The Camshaft Group

1200 The Case Group

2000 Rear oil Case Group

2100 Harmonic Balancer Group

2400 Starter Group

2500 Hub Group

3000 Weseman 5th bearing Group

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Over the next few nights, we will look at the elements of each of these that make up a first class closed Corvair Case. I invite builders to write in on the comments section and share any question or comment they have.

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Above, Blaine Schwartz and myself at CC#22. We are standing in front of his closed case. Note the smile, this is the look of a builder having a good time, making progress, learning with friends. Blaine is now flying this engine in his Zenith 750 : ( Flying Zenith 750, 2850 cc Corvair, Blaine Schwartz ) A college is an excellent setting to really get started on your engine in a knowledgeable, supportive setting. All you have to do is sign up, and do a little planning as detailed in this series. -ww.

On our way back from Corvair College #32 in Austin TX, we broke up the 1,100 mile drive with a stop at Grayston Beach on the Florida panhandle. It was cool and overcast, without a single other person for miles in either direction. No phones, electronics, nor distractions. Just a moment and a beautify quiet day.

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When ScoobE first got to the beach he was cold and a bit scared. When you are 12″ tall, every shin high wave looks like a Tsunami. I wrapped him in my jacket, and he was warm and happy looking out one sleeve.

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ScoobE comes to every College, warm or cold. He has hair, not fur and near zero body fat, so we always have a collection of blankets on hand, which he makes into an igloo.  At College #32 Katrina became his new best friend when she put 2 hand warmers in the bottom of his nest. He was toasty even though the hangar was about 35 degrees.

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The beach was 30 degrees warmer than Texas the day before, and in a little while ScoobE was acclimated to the setting.

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Just inland of the dune line is a continuous forest of tangled, moss covered trees. The photo doesn’t begin to do it justice, was walking through it on the foggy day was surreal.

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Joking with Grace I said, ‘sure glad we are not riding bicycles and that our dog isn’t a Scottie, apparently neither  is allowed.’  This is the edge of the state park, Dogs are allowed on the county side.

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Looking west, no one in sight. No one came by for hours.

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Selfie, dog not cooperating…. I have lived in Florida for nearly 30 years. Few people who visit the state have an appreciation for the size or diversity of the place. Pensacola to Key west is a longer drive than Washington DC to St. Louis MO., Further than LA to El Paso TX.  Florida has many residents, but few of them live north of Orlando. I have not sat in a traffic jam in years. The densely populated areas have changed rapidly, but off the beaten path you can visit any timeless period you wish. The great percentage of Americans live in places that have long been homogenized by very strong corporate-consumer forces. Florida has those areas also, but it also has countless areas of character, where people and places have retained what made them unique, and those are the places I am attached to in the Sunshine state. -ww.

Builders,

Here is a look at the second part of Kevin Purtee’s Corvair installation, these photos were taken in his shop, the day after CC #32. This is a follow on to the previous story: Current Corvair Installation in a Pietenpol, part #1. If you follow all the way down, you will gain some insight to the type of characters that inhabit the Corvair/Pietenpol branch of the Corvair Movement.

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Above, an overhead shot of the engine. The Corvair is only 28″ wide, about four inches narrower than a small Continental. Kevin’s motor is set up with a stock Corvair oil system. In the manual, this is Group 2700. If he was using a HD oil system, he would follow Group 2800 in the manual. Any engine can be ‘upgraded’ later, but it is easier to build it in the HD configuration if you know that you will eventually do it. On Pietenpols, you can use either system, on planes like Zenith 750s, we always set them up as Group 2800 motors.

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The Gold oil filter housing is at the back of the motor, it is part #2601-S. This is the ‘standard’ housing, we also make a #2601-R ‘reverse’ housing where the filter is over the engine. The “-R” is only used on Sonex and Waiex airframes and a handful of applications that are very tight on space. The iol feed line for the 5th bearing comes off the housing. The line itself is part # 3051-S. It is an AN-6 braided line, but Kevin has covered it in a sleeve. The silver part on the firewall behind the housing is the Aircraft Spruce air oil separator. It works well and is less than $50. You can fly some Corvair installations without one, but most planes use one. It weighs only a few ounces.

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Pietenpols use our standard intake manifold, part #3601-S. In the photos above, the rubber mounting boots are not in place, but it is a good view of how the intake lines up with the head pipes we weld on heads. Note that the pipes on the heads are leaning inboard 20 degrees. This is required to get the most compact installation. We have fixtures that bolt to the head that hold the pipes in the right place during welding.  On the internet there are countless discussions about trying to make some bolt on arrangement that works as well as welded on pipes. If you want to make progress, make it look like this, it has worked for hundreds of other builders in the last decade.

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Above, a look from the bottom of the engine. The exhaust is #3901-E.  The camera is distorting the amount to ‘splay in the exhaust tubes. in reality the miss the corners of the fuselage by just 2″.  The high thrust line mount is #4201-C.

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Above, the close exhaust pipe is in perspective, and can be seen to hug the fuselage. The far side has the illusion of sticking out. The Corvairs exhaust is held in place by 6 clamps that look like distributor clamps. They are made from 316 stainless. I have tried making mounting points at the ends of the pipes, but these were prone to cracks. After more than 10 years of these systems flying, I can say they have a perfect crack free record, as long as you just clamp them only at the top where they bolt to the heads. Kevin’s  plane is being covered with the Stewart System. He chose this because he dosent tolerate the MEK element in Poly-Fiber covering systems.

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Notice that every engine we build at colleges has white painted or powdercoated push rod tubes. This is an importiant element in protecting the pushrod O-rings, (#1603) from heat damage.

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Above, Kevin and I speaking at Corvair College #32. Although we look very different, we have a lot of things in Common: We are both the same age; We are both Embry-Riddle graduates from the same Degree Program; we have both worked in aviation every day since we were 26; we have very similar perspectives on risk management.  Read: Thought for the Day: Two paths in managing risk.

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It was really cold at CC #32. When you see photos, notice how well everyone is dressed it never came out of the 30s for a temp. Builders had a good time, but we have already discussed moving next years Texas college to April to avoid a repeat.  That is good for next year, but while at the college, Kevin wanted to demonstrate that being cold is all in your head if you are having a good time. He is the unofficial leader of the Corvair/Pietenpol branch of the movement, and as such, builders have come to expect that he will likely set the positive attitude at any gathering of Pietenpol people. We have many ‘characters’ in the Corvair movement, and the bar for setting the pace is high. Other engines tend to attract people less comfortable with strong choices, we get the fun loving, independent types.

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Above, Pietenpol builder, Mark Chouinard’s engine on the run stand at CC #32. Mark is the 6’5″ cat in the cammo jacket. Note that everyone is wearing hats, and several people are wearing snow mobile suits. It was about 35 degrees, raining and windy out when we ran Mark’s engine. Mark spent a number of years in the Infantry, and as a fellow warrior, Kevin thought the occasion called for something memorable, something that would be a reminder that the Corvair Pietenpol builders are just a different breed….

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Kevin’s idea was that he and Mark should stand shirtless in the prop blast. Mark bowed out, but Kevin wanted everyone to know that it wasn’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. -ww.

Builders,

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We have a good friend who is getting close to finishing an O-200 powered Vari-eze and he is looking for a Core MA3-10-4894 core carb and a six quart oil sump for an O-200, these are the common Cessna 150 parts. He has been a good friend for almost 2 decades and said told him I would put the word out on our site, to assist him in finding someone  willing to sell these parts. If you have either of these in your hangar, please send me a private note at WilliamTCA@aol.com

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Thank you.  -ww.

Builders,

We are 4 days from leaving for CC#32 in Texas. We have 75 builders signed up for that event, and it is shaping up to be a very fun, productive event, with many engines making their first run. Even as the attention focus is on #32, College #33 is heavy into prep work.

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We hold the spring college in Florida every year, the weekend before the Sun n Fun airshow. After 26 consecutive years at Sun N Fun, I no longer have a commercial presence there, Instead I focus our efforts to work with builders at the spring college. It is a much more rewarding use of my time to make a direct and serious impact on the projects of 60-90 builders at the college rather than spend a week at an “airshow” that has drifted very far away from its origins as a gathering of homebuilders. You can meet several hundred people at a Sun n Fun that will profess to love the idea of building a plane, and be glad to talk about it, but If you see the same people, and they tell you the same thing for 10 years, their actions define them as spectators in homebuilding, looking into the Arena from the outside. Any builder you chooses to make 2015 the year he gets started, signs up for a college, and actually gets his hands dirty learning is making real progress, is no longer a spectator, and is now actually in the Arena.

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We had original planned to hold #33 in north east Florida, at Palatka, the location of CC#23. However, the airport has undergone a great increase in use in the last 6 months, and the City hangar we have used for previous events is not available. To address this, we are returning to Leesburg airport in central Florida, to the EAA Chapter 534 hangar, the same location we used for Corvair Colleges #25 and #29. These were very good events, and with a little refining, #33 will be even better. The physical address of the College hangar is 8701 Airport Blvd Suite 103 Leesburg FL 34788. There is all the aircraft parking you will ever need so if you’re flying in have no worries. We also have all of the camping area you would ever want, so if you want to camp it’s no problem. There are no hook-ups but we do have three showers for everyone to use. You can bring in a large RV or a small pup tent, makes no matter. For people planning on motels who would like to get an advanced look, check out the Best Western Leesburg FL (352-253-2378 ) and the Hamton Inn.

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We will have more information and the on line sign up active in the next few days.

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Above, a group photo from CC#29, a freshly run engine on the test stand as a centerpiece. Get a more in depth look at what to expect from CC#33 at this report: Corvair College #29, Leesburg, FL. – photo report

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Above, 2014, Arnold Holmes, (in blue) local host of Corvair College #17, #25, and  #29 and I enjoy the prop blast of a running Curtiss OX-5 engine.  This engine is Ninety-Five years old.

 

 

Builders:

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Another success story, made of hard work and persistence: Tonight Blaine Schwartz wrote to say he took his 2,850 cc Corvair powered Zenith 750 for it’s first flight. While there will likely be 1,000 new homebuilts fly in 2015, only a small select group of them will have builders who can lay claim to having built both the airframe and the engine. Blaine Schwartz is one of these men.

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Above, Man and the Machine. Both airframe and power plant made with his own hands, skills and understanding.

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Nice combination of the Chevrolet Bowtie and Zenith model number.

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A red white and blue theme on an All-American plane. The 750 kit is manufactured at the Zenith Factory in Mexico MO. and virtually all of our Corvair parts are made in the US. The Corvair is a 100% General Motors design, and all 1.7 million Corvair engines were made in the GM plant in Tonowanda NY. Today you can buy just about any new part for the engine, including Billet cranks designed for flight engines, that you like. Any Corvair / Zenith builder can be justifiably proud of his direct support of the US economy and manufacturing base. While many people can’t understand what is wrong with having a “take America back” bumper sticker on an imported car, Almost all Corvair builders cite the engine’s ‘Made in America’ credentials as an important factor in their selection of it.

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For a more detailed look at how Blaine assembled and test ran his engine at Corvair College #22, click on this story:  Schwartz Engine Runs at CC #22

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Above, Blaine’s engine about half way through the assembly at CC#22. The engine is as simple as we can make it. We live in a world where people blindly smother every moment of their lives in excessive technology, often isolating themselves from any real experience. I can make a very strong case that flight is the wrong arena to bring the blind worship of electronic technology and complication to. No popular light plane engine can make a claim to be smoother running than a Corvair, and it has an outstanding reputation for reliability, all at an affordable price, made in a setting where craftsmanship and learning are still king. These values are not for everyone, but if they ring true for you, you have found your engine.

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A look at Blaine during his build:

Zenith 750 Builder Blaine Schwartz

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A detail look at every aspect of the Zenith 750 Corvair Combination:

Zenith 750 / Corvair reference page, October 2013

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Above, Blaine and myself at CC#22. He is a life long fan of Chevrolets, and now he flies one. Blaine is also part of our information board for Zenith builders. Read more about it at these two links:  ‘Zenvair’ Information board formed  and   Zenvair’ information board, part # 2 

Builders:

Pat and Mary Hoyt made the cover of EAA experimenter, the association’s on-line homebuilding magazine. Below is the cover. Sebastien Heintz wrote up a link to the story on Zenith Builders and flyers, the factory’s very well supported and organized discussion group that serves several thousand of their builders.

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Above, The five Corvair powered Zeniths that flew into Corvair College #30, all parked for a photo in front of the Mexico terminal. Pat and Mary’s plane in in the upper corner. The engine installation on these planes are clones of the one we developed in our own 601XL more than 10 years ago. Since then, we wrote the installation manual for it, produced hundreds of installation parts like mounts, intakes and exhausts, and have taught 800 people at colleges how to clone our engines. The five planes above are a sample of the success of cloning a proven engine set up.

 

 

Builders,

We are leaving to head north today. We will be at Brodhead WI late Friday and all day Saturday the 26th. The first day of Oshkosh is the 28th. The Last day is Sunday August 3rd.

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 We will be there in booth 616 in the North aircraft display area (where all homebuilt companies are) Right where we were the last several years.

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Our forum schedule: Oshkosh Corvair Forums – 2014

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Answers to common Oshkosh questions: 21 Days to Oshkosh 2014

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After Oshkosh we are detouring to NJ to visit with my Parents on the way back to Florida. I expect to be in NJ by August 6th, and back in the workshop in Florida by the 15th. That will give us 30 days to prep for Corvair College #30.

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While we are gone, It is almost certain that the shop answering machine on 904-529-0006 will fill up. As a much better alternative, please use our email: WilliamTCA@aol.com as a phone message location. Simply put “Phone Message” in the subject box and we will call you back from the road. Please include your phone number and a good time to call you. We will be swamped at Oshkosh, but I have a chance to return many calls while at my parents home.

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If you are planning on attending Corvair Colleges #30 or #31, please sign up before Oshkosh starts. Both of these events are more than half full, and in a few days at Oshkosh I expect that they will fill up. We have limited space in MO for #30, which restricts us to 70 builders. #31 at Barnwell can take 90 people, but that is also getting full. For  sign up info read this: Corvair College #30 and #31 sign up now open

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We hope to see as many of you as possible in the next few weeks. -ww.

 “Your engine is your personal masterpiece. You should be tempted to pull the cowl off and just marvel at it for no reason.  You should drag passers-by at the airport into your hangar and proudly say “LOOK! I built That!” With an arm gesture that magicians use as they say “TAA-DAA!”

25 hours is a reasonable goal on inspections. You could probably run 50 hours on Rotella between changes but learn this phrase that every A&P worth a damn has tattooed on heart: “Gas and oil are the cheapest things you ever put into an engine.” Here is the WW corollary: “Gas and oil are also the easiest ‘parts’ to install.” -ww.

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Read the whole story at this link:

Notes on Corvair flight engine oils.

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Above is a 2007 shot of Rick Lindstrom’s 601XL . It was built in our Edgewater hangar, and it did all it’s flight testing in Florida. Woody Harris and his daughter Amy flew it to the west coast were it covered many airshows from Copper state in AZ to Arlington in WA. It made a number of events at Zenith’s west coast facity, Quality Sport Planes, in Cloverdale, and it was on hand for Corvair Colleges #11, 13 and 18. -ww.

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