Event – Page 10

11/20/201411/20/2014

12 Cylinders / 6.0L of Corvair Power for JAG-2 run at CC#31

Builders:

If you read this site regularly, you have already heard of Jim and Ginger Tomaszewski’s twin project, the JAG-2. They finished both engines for it at Corvair College#31, and we got both of them on the run stand on Sunday for 30 minutes each. They ran flawlessly.

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You can see photos of the nearly done plane at this link: New Photos of JAG-2, a Corvair powered twin. and you can read a longer story on the development of the plane in Jim’s words at this link: JAG-2, Corvair Powered Twin, Jim Tomaszewski, N.Y.

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Without fail, when the topic of this plane comes up, someone will chime in to say that flying a twin requires a special rating and twins have a poor safety record when flown by amateurs with the wealth to buy them but not the skill to operate them. These statements are true, but they do not apply to Jim.

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He is a low-time single engine pilot with 500 hours, but he is a high time multi pilot with more than 15,000 hours in planes with more than one engine. You would think people might pick up on this as Jim’s Email address is ‘DC-8Jim’, but they often do not. Much of Jim’s time is global corporate flying, often to very challenging destinations. Ask any honest ATP and they will tell you that very few airline destinations require the skill of a night landing in a corporate jet at Aspen Colorado.

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Above, both engines on the bench. These are first class 3,000 cc Corvairs. They have Weseman Billet cranks (https://flywithspa.com/product-category/corvair/) and all our Gold system parts. (these were painted by Jim to suit his taste). Note that both engines are equipped with our new Ultra light weight Starter assemblies, part number 2400L. These engines are essentially clones of the one on Dan Wesemans Panther, (although most pictures show the Panther engine with our standard starter, it has been flying on a 2400L since the spring.) For a look at the logic behind that engine, read this story:Why Not the Panther engine?

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Above, both engine in process with Jim and Ginger on the right. They ordered #2000HV cases before the event and picked them up in person, they took only a 30 minutes each to install. The engine oil fillers are on the top covers because the narrow twin cowls do not have the space on the sides like single engine cowls do. Both engines have group #2800 oil systems and rear alternators.

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Above, two more photos of Jim and Ginger with the engines.
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Above, the second engine runs at the college. Jim said his time line is to fly the twin back to Barnwell next year, fully flight tested and proven. A great number of Corvair builders will rightfully hail him on that day, as a champion of homebuilding and as a builder who was willing to put in the had work to do something extraordinary in aviation.-ww.

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Special Note to RV Builders: The section of the Van’s Airforce discussion group that showed just a few pictures and short descriptions of this aircraft generated thousands of hits before their list moderator banned the photos and deleted references to it, and put up his own negative comment. That list is operated as a commercial venture by Doug Reeves, a controversial personality who promotes a very conformist model of homebuilding and flying. He will delete your posts if they reference things he dislikes, often as simple as making a low pass.

In a single week, the tracking on our site showed that 220 RV builders on that site followed a link to come here and read my story 2,500 words about levels of aircraft finish… Reeves also deleted all of the links to that story to block RV builders from even referencing it. It was deemed too controversial because it included the single sentence “We were not the ones who decided that regular looking people and the planes they built were not cool enough to be on the cover of their own membership magazine. That one is on the Editors and the management of the EAA…” To my perspective, Reeves is a throwback to the type of aviation magazine editors of the 1980s and ’90s who worked to make sure only people they “approved of’” felt welcome in experimental aviation. RV builders are often unfairly characterized as uncreative conformists. Reeves’ actions unfortunately reinforce this stereotype. RV builders with open minds are welcome to come here and directly read unfiltered ideas. -ww

11/18/201411/18/2014

Pietenpol Builders and Pilots at Corvair College #31.

Builders,

Every college gets some of its character from the local host. The Barnwell colleges have a high percentage of Pietenpol builders simply because the host P.F Beck is well-known and respected in the Pietenpol community. Below is a look at some of the Piet builders at Corvair College #31.

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Above, Don Harper’s Piet on the ground while Bob Lester’s Piet is in the air in the background. Don’s plane is very Close to P.F.’s with the exception of the airfoil, Don’s plane uses the Ribbletts section. Last year they did very carefull back to back flight testing and found little practical difference between the two airfoil sections. Read more about Don’s plane at this link: New Pietenpol, 2700 Corvair, Don Harper SC.

Above, two builders get a look at P.F.’s plane.

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Piet builder Tim Hansen torques his case. Would you like to know why so much gets done at Colleges? What the mood is like? Try this: the photo above was taken at 2 am.

Tim Hansen sent in this photo he calls Hero’s Engine Runs. It was taken of Chuck Cambell as he donned a leather hat and scarf for the first run of his engine. Chuck flew F6F Hellcats in WWII. Yes he is over 90 years old, still in great shape and enjoys learning and building.

Above, at a quieter moment, I go over some details of Chuck’s engine with him. On the left is Keith Goff’s blue Piet engine which also got it first run in at the college.

Above two Photos, Piet Builder John Francis enjoy’s the first run of his engine. below I speak to builders about setting the valves using John’s engine as an example the night before. Once set during the build, the Corvair’s lifters never need to be adjusted for the life of the engine. The lower photo was taken after 11pm. Long hours at the College pay off with milestones like running your engine the next day. Often people just hearing about the Colleges are thinking of ‘tech seminars’ which are nothing more than a 9-5 power point presentations. Our Colleges are very far from that.

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Above, Piet builder from Nebraska Edi Bickford gets a flight in with P.F Beck.

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Two Piets at sunset.

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Keith Goff enjoys the moment as his engine logs its first run.

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Keith Goff’s engine getting its break in run on Saturday at sunset. Keith exemplified the spirit of the colleges by also putting a lot of effort into assisting other builders and doing a lot of work getting other engines on and off the stand. He was not alone in this, most builders understand this unspoken ethic central to the college experience. Pietenpol builder Bob Dewenter was on hand for his 5th Barnwell college. Bob’s engine ran at his second college, but he returns every year for the fun, camaraderie, and to assist others. This is a common thread at colleges, but the spirit is especially strong among Piet builders. There are several popular engine options for a piet builder, but those selecting a Corvair as their powerplant find they are joining an outgoing, tight-knit club that looks out for its members. It has Esprit de Corps that other engine choices do not.

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Above, Bob Lester’s Corvair powered Pietenpol sits on the ramp at Barnwell at sunset on Saturday night. Bob had flown it up from Florida that morning. It is the second college the plane has been to, Bob also flew into CC#25 in Leesburg. Bob has been flying for 30 years or so, and has owned certified aircraft from a Taylorcraft to a Stinson 108 and experimentals from KRs to his Pietenpol.

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The son of a WWII combat pilot and a native of South Florida, today Bob lives in North Central Florida at a quiet rural airport. His bachelor’s paradise is a large hangar housing his apartment, his tools, motorcycle, the Stinson and the Pietenpol. Read more at these links: Pietenpol Power: 100 hp Corvair vs 65 hp Lycoming and New die spring landing gear on a Pietenpol, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

11/16/2014

The Cherry Grove Trophy, 2014

Builders,

Every year at the Barnwell College we award The Cherry Grove Trophy . It is named after Bernard Pietenpol’s home town in MN, the place where the first Corvair was flown by him in the spring of 1960. We award it to a Corvair pilot who has made a lasting contribution to the efforts of other builders.

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In 2008 Grace and I had the Trophy made with space for eight years of awards to be engraved on it. Next year, 2015 at CC#35, the last name will be engraved on the trophy and it will be retired, but the lasting contribution of the eight years of recipients will have a strong positive effect on Corvair builders for decades to come. -ww.

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Recipients:

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2008 – Mark Langford – KR2s – 1,000 hrs. on Corvairs; Flew to Oshkosh, SNF, colleges and the KR gathering numerous times. Contributed to flight ops. manual.

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2009 – Dan Weseman – Cleanex (and now Panther)- Approx 600hrs in Corvairs, has flown 11 different Corvair powered planes. Flew to SNF and colleges numerous times, positive displays at Oshkosh. Developed most practical 5th bearing; Co-hosted CC#23; Demonstrated aerobatic performance of the Corvair; Contributed to flight ops. manual.

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2010 – Joe Horton – KR2s – 825 hrs. on Corvairs; Flew to Oshkosh, SNF, and the KR gathering numerous times. Flown to more Colleges than any other pilot; has flown Coast to Coast and back. Contributed to flight ops. manual.

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2011 – P.F. Beck – Pietenpol – Local Host for Colleges #19, #21, #24 #27, and #31. About 1/3 of all the engines ever run at a college started at Barnwell, these colleges were attended by nearly 400 builders. P.F. has flown more than 250 people in his aircraft. It was originally completed for $6,800 including the engine.

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2012 – Kevin Purtee and Shelley Tumino – Pietenpol- 345 hrs on plane in short time. Flew to Brodhead several years; Local Hosts for Colleges #22, #28 and #32. Outspoken risk management activists for Piet community.

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2013 – Phil Maxson – Zenith 601XL – Flew to SNF and colleges numerous times. Developer and moderator of the “Zenvair” discussion group. Contributed to flight ops. manual. N601MX is the only airframe to fly on 2700, 3100 and 3000 cc engines. Tireless contributor of positive energy over a decade.

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2014 – Ken Pavlou – Zenith 601XL – Flew 40 hours off, to Oshkosh and to CC#31, logging 165 hours in first 5 months.- Developed application for this website, has run on line sign up for almost all of the last 15 colleges; Local host CC#14; Directly assisted numerous other Corvair builders in New England. Logged 6.5 hrs. giving demo flights at CC#31.

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Ken holds the trophy at CC#31 Barnwell 2014. 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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2014 CC#31, the first four recipients repeat a 2011 picture on the same spot:

Above, from Corvair College #21. Left to right are Joe Horton, 2010 , Dan Weseman, 2009, P.F. Beck, 2011, and Mark Langford, 2008.

11/13/2014

Veteran’s day story: Tammy Duckworth, aviator.

Builders:

A Corvair pilot sent me a link to this story. It is about marking the 10th anniversary (11/12/04) of Major Tammy Duckworth’s helicopter being hit in Iraq. Although she is a serving member of Congress today, Grace and I have known her a long time, and have a special family connection to her, noted below. This is a story of a veteran that transcends any political perspective.

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Tammy Duckworth is an American aviator of the first order. Note that she is planning on naming her daughter ‘Piper.’ In the story below is tells of her getting out of Walter Reed on a four day pass to go to Oshkosh. We had our 601XL in the Zenith booth that year and Tammy spent a few hours there. To their great credit, the Zenith crew treated her with deep respect and affection. She wanted to see if she would be able to get into a low wing plane unassisted. Although she had thousands of hours in helicopters, she confessed to having never been PIC in a fixed wing plane, and honestly asked if it was difficult; Roger Dubert assured her that she would be fine as long as she didn’t try to hover. It was just as Tammy wanted, being joked with like any other aviator.

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My brother in law Col. John Nerges told me that in 30 years of nursing including heading the nursing intensive care unit of Walter Reed 2003-2005, he never saw a human fight to live with greater will than Major Duckworth.

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http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20141111/news/141119848/

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From our website in 2009:

Tammy Duckworth, above center, and her husband Bryan Bowlsbey, left, at our booth at AirVenture 2009. From the right, Mark Petniunas , Dan Weseman my wife Grace Ellen, myself, and Roy Szarafinski Tammy and Bryan are old friends. Tammy had recently accepted a post as Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs in Washington, D.C.

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From our website in 2005:

“From The first stop on the trip was Washington, D.C. The officer in the center of the photo above is my brother-in-law John Nerges. He is head of the nurses in the intensive care ward at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. On this day, Feb. 11, John was being promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. Although he is Airborne and Air Assault qualified, and has been deployed with both the 82nd and 101st Divisions, the focal point of John’s career is the care for severely wounded soldiers. The above photo was taken in the Eisenhower Suite at Walter Reed, where the ceremony was held. My sister Alison, herself a critical care nurse, left, and my father, a career naval officer, right, pinned on John’s insignia. It was a very moving ceremony where John’s promotion was read by a recovering, severely wounded Army helicopter pilot. The pilot’s mother was on hand to thank John and his staff personally for saving her daughter’s life. With characteristic humility, John said the credit was entirely for his staff. It was a most memorable day in my family’s history in many years. John had said that his only regret was that his own father, a veteran of World War II fighting in Burma, did not live to share the day with him. Our entire family is very proud of John.”

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From our Website in 2008:

“My 20 years of working with Corvairs have brought us many rewards. The most valuable of these is certainly the people we’ve met along the way. I can think of no other career which would have allowed us to cross paths with so many unique people we respect. At the very top of this pinnacle is Major Tammy Duckworth and her husband Bryan Bowlsbey. For a bit of background, read this link to our stop at Walter Reed Hospital in 2005. The helicopter pilot I was writing about was Major Duckworth. We did not use her name at the time because she was not publicly known and was still serving in the Army. We had actually met her and Brian briefly at Oshkosh several years before. Our brother-in-law John rarely speaks of his work, and never mentions any soldier’s name, thus seeing Tammy and Brian at the ceremony was unexpected. Through all of the unspeakable acts of human courage and endurance John has certainly seen, the survival of Major Duckworth in spite of her horrific wounds and 13 months at Walter Reed still astounds him.

Yet, she has done much beyond survival: She was subsequently appointed as the Director of Veterans Affairs for the State of Illinois. She has returned to flying in a Piper, and has plans to build a homebuilt. She is a relentlessly positive person. Her husband Bryan, an Army officer himself, who has just returned from another tour in Iraq, has been the kind of support we all vow to be on our wedding day, but few are called to live up to. Major Duckworth’s father was a Korean War veteran. He passed away while she was at Walter Reed. He was buried a few miles away at Arlington National Cemetery. It is my understanding that they are the only Father-Daughter Purple Heart combination in U.S. history.”

11/12/2014

Back from Corvair College #31,Barnwell, S.C.

Builders,

We have returned from CC#31 in Barnwell, our 5th event with local hosts P.F. Beck and his outstanding team of volunteers. It was a great event, with many planes flown in, many engine built and run, much learned and many friendships, both new and old, strengthened.

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At dinner on Saturday night the head count was 107 people, the largest number of builders in several years. There were a number of builders and pilots like Mark Langford, Joe Horton and Dale Williams who were on hand Friday and Saturday, but flew out before the dinner. All totaled we had about 115 individuals at the College.

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Over the next several days Grace and I are unpacking and getting parts in the mail to builders. Our main CNC machine shop finished a large batch of Gold Prop hubs and Gold oil systems at 5 pm Thursday, a week later than scheduled. We departed later that night without a chance to mail them. Today they are going out by USPS priority mail.

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Once we get these things covered, I will write up several photo essays from the college over the next week. For now, a single photo to start with, and a reminder that the sign up for College #32, just 108 days away, is already open: Corvair College #32, Texas Feb, 2015, Sign up open

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Above, Bob Lester’s Corvair powered Pietenpol sits on the ramp at Barnwell at sunset on Saturday night. Bob had flown it up from Florida that morning. It is the second college the plane has been to, Bob also flew into CC#25 in Leesburg. Bob has been flying for 30 years or so, and has owned certified aircraft from a Taylorcraft to a Stinson 108 and experimentals from KRs to his Pietenpol.

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The son of a WWII combat pilot and a native of South Florida, today Bob lives in North Central Florida at a quiet rural airport. His batchlor’s paradise is a large hangar housing his apartment, his tools, motorcycle, the Stinson and the Pietenpol. Read more at these links: Pietenpol Power: 100 hp Corvair vs 65 hp Lycoming and New die spring landing gear on a Pietenpol, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

11/06/2014

New EAA video on Corvair College#27, Barnwell 2013.

Builders,

Charlie Becker, The EAA’s Director of Communities & Homebuilt Community Manager sent us a note, that the EAA has released a 7 minute film on you tube, a condensed version of the full length shoot they made about Corvair College #27 at Barnwell SC in 2013. This is timely, because we are leaving for Corvair College #31 at Barnwell in another 16 hours.

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The video was developed specifically to send out to all local EAA chapters, to provide subject and content for meetings. Below is the short note from Charlie and the link to the video:

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“Below is a link to the video Brady made for the Chapter Video magazine. (Actually, it is a somewhat shortened version). It will be sent out to the entire membership in E-hotline on Thursday afternoon. Hope you have a successful weekend at Barnwell. I wish I could be there. Might be fun to play it for the group this year; especially for those that were there last year. Give my best to PF Beck. -Charlie.”

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The link:

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http://youtu.be/wvXAX0C2q5c

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From Oshkosh 2013:

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Above, four old friends, people who have done great work in supporting homebuilders. From the left, journalist Cory Emberson, Kitplanes senior writer and 601/Corvair builder Rick Lindstrom, Grace and the EAA’s hardest working man, Charlie Becker. I took this photo as we were packing up.

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Notes from the 2014 Zenith Open House, where Charlie was the featured speaker:

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“The dinner this year gave me a change to say a few words about our friend, Charlie Becker, who is a director at the EAA, a man who played leading roles in both the EAA’s STOL 750 build and the One Week Wonder 750 Cruiser project. Grace and I have known Charlie for more than decade, and I will assure anyone that a finer, more capable, more trustworthy man can not be found in experimental aviation. Charlie was personal friends with the EAA’s founder Paul Poberezney, Charlie understands Pauls’ vision and methods, and a strongly feel that tied with Charlie’s, building, flying and organizational skills, he is one of the most effective advocates and protectors of Homebuilding. Even if you have not met him, I will assure any EAA member that this man has worked tirelessly on causes that you care about strongly. For more thoughts on this get a look at: Speaking of Paul Poberezny -ww.”

10/31/2014

Corvair College #32, Texas Feb, 2015, Sign up open

Builders,

Corvair College #32 is set for San Marcos Texas. 27 Feb – 1 Mar, The local hosts are Shelley Tumino and Kevin Purtee. The people who brought you CC#22 and CC#28 . This College is at the same location as CC #28. Sign up is now active. This email below came from Shelley today:

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“Hi there, I wanted to let you know that CC32 registration is open and ready for you to shout it from the roof tops!! Please let your followers know, and as soon as you put it out I’ll post it on the MATRONICS and Facebook. Here is the link:

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https://cc32.wufoo.com/forms/cc32-registration/

–Shelley”

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Kevin and Shelley keep a busy schedule. For example, the week before Corvair College #22 they were having dinner at the White House.

Above, at Corvair College #24, we awarded The Cherry Grove Trophy to Pietenpol builders and flyers Kevin Purtee and his very supportive better half Shelley Tumino. Their frequent appearances at airshows far from Texas, their constant promotion of ‘learn build and fly’ and the hosting of the highly successful Corvair college #22 made them the right people to be awarded the trophy in 2012. They work as a team, and it was appropriate to award it to both of them. Kevin’s frank discussions of the effort required to achieve something of real lasting value in personal flight reach many builders. Their ‘lead by personal example’ philosophy has shown a great number of builders a path to success. -ww

For a good read on Kevin’s personal perspective on homebuilding, read his story at this link:

Guest Writer: Pietenpol builder/flyer Kevin Purtee

10/22/201410/22/2014

Woody Harris and 601XL flying to Copper State

Builders:

I received an email an hour ago from “our man on the West Coast” Woody Harris, stating that he is leaving Vacaville in Northern CA at first light and flying his 601XL the 750 miles to the Copper State fly-in in AZ.

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Woody has a limited number of our new 2014 manuals, a number of Dvds, a great 400+ hour plane to study, and of course a wealth of knowledge on building, flying and good decision making. If you are in the area, take the time to head out and meet him.

Woody flying over Grand Teton.

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Woody and Doug Dougger over South Dakota.

Woody needs little excuse to fly places; Above he is speaking with Sebastien Heintz, president of Zenith Aircraft, at a West Coast Zenith fly in at Quality Sport Planes in Santa Rosa. This facility was the site of Corvair College #11.

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From Steve Smiths Website: “Left to right: Woody’s Zodiac XL, Doug Dugger’s 750, Steve Smith’s Zodiac XL. The Chicken Strip is a dirt/gravel landing strip in the Saline Valley of Death Valley National Park. Lat/long is 36.807,-117.782. This was one of the stops on our trip home from the 2013 Copperstate flyin in Casa Grande AZ.”

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For more reading on Woody’s adventures, check out these links:

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In our booth at Oshkosh 2011, I stand with three pilots who flew in their Corvair powered Zeniths. From left to right, Shane McDaniels who flew in a 2,700cc 650 from Missouri, Woody Harris in a 2,850cc 601-XLB from California, and Andy Elliott in a 3,000cc 601-XLB from Arizona. If you would like to be in a future version of this photo, you must willfully decide to advance your dreams.

Above, the 601XL of Woody Harris. It has flown all over the country on a 2,850. Note that Woody is from northern California and the photo above is at Kitty Hawk NC. -ww.

10/03/201410/08/2014

Corvair College #31, close to last call…..

UPDATE 10/8 – Sign up for CC#31 is now closed, we have more than 100 builders registered. (We opened the sign up the week before Oshkosh in July). If you missed it, sorry, the next college is in Texas in February 2015. The sign up for #32 will start here next month.-ww.

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UPDATE 10/3 11am : I have just spoken with 601/Corvair pilot Ken Pavlou, who takes care of the on line sign up for the colleges, and requested that he cut off the sign up on Tuesday 10/7 at 9pm EST. Ken told me that the sign up had picked up 10 more builders in the last 24 hours, and we were now at 84, and if it stayed at this pace we would be over the physical size limit for the College by Sunday AM. so, if you are planning on heading to the college, please sign in now, as we may actually reach the limit before Tuesday.-ww.

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Builders,

We are getting close to cutting off the sign up for College #31, we are just 35 days away from the opening.Corvair College #31 will be in Barnwell South Carolina, November 7th -9th. I have spoken with a number of the pilots flying in, and we will have a good cross section of flying planes, many engines going all the way from cases through running on the stand, and we will present the 2014 Cherry Grove trophy. Barnwell is run with great style and attention to detail by PF Beck and his excellent crew. The event is very spouse and family friendly, and it is the most up-scale an civilized College on the calendar. If you are considering bringing a better half to a college, make it Barnwell. Don’t miss it.

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Click on: https://corvaircollege.wufoo.com/forms/corvair-college-31-registration/

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CC#24 – Barnwell SC – 2012 -click on blue links below:

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Above, CC #24; Irv Russell, left, gives a thumbs up after a demo flight in Phil Maxon’s 601. Irv is building a 650 but had never flown in either a 601 nor a 650. This was quickly taken care of at the college. Irv got a jump-start on building his own engine by picking up a closed case from us with a gen 2 Dan bearing already installed.

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CC#21 – Barnwell SC – 2011 – click on blue link below:

http://www.flycorvair.com/cc21.html

In the CC#21 photo above 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. We have since added Kevin Purtee and Shelley Tumino 2012 and Phil Maxon 2013. Come to CC#31 and find out who the 2014 recipient will be.

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CC#19 – Barnwell SC – 2010 – click on blue link below:

http://www.flycorvair.com/cc19.html

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Above, Randy Bush built the last engine to run at Corvair College #19. It lit off at 6:10 p.m. Sunday a bit after dark. Today, his Pietenpol now has more than 600 hours on it. If you want to succeeded in homebuilding, make a plan, spend your time with positive people who know what they are doing, and take action. It is that simple. Read this 2013 story: Randy Bush’s Pietenpol hits 500 hours. -ww.

10/02/201410/04/2014

Zenith Open House, Mexico 2014 Part 2

Builders,

Here is one more set of pictures to cover the good time we had at the 23rd annual Zenith Factory open house. I have selected images that covered elements of what makes being a Corvair builder a different experience. Get a good look , read the captions, consider your own goals in homebuilding. If you are a traditional homebuilder, in the game to Learn, Build and fly, we have a place for you among new friends.

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Above, The five Corvair powered Zeniths that flew into the event, all parked for a photo in front of the Mexico terminal. A decade ago, in the early years of Corvair powered Zeniths, we brought our own 601XL, and Rick Lindstrom’s 601XL to many airshows. They were a good display, but they were “Ringers” planes that were built, finished and flown out of my commercial hanger. Any company with skilled people can do that, and in professional circles, it is understood that this is how you launch a new engine/airframe combination, but it isn’t my personal measure of success.

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The photo above is much more impressive to me than any group of “Ringers.” In the picture above are five real homebuilts from by the craftsmanship of regular builders. Not a single one of these planes has ever been to my airport not hangar, nor did I do any work on them. They are the pure work of homebuilders using our guidance and parts to build their own airframes…and engines.

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In the last 11 years, almost 100 Corvair powered Zeniths have flown. Only 4 of these were “Ringers” or had substantial work done in our hangar. In my book, this is the real measure of success that matters to a new builder considering what engine to utilize. The planes above show that the Corvair/Zenith combination is a fully mature and accepted engine, a proven and affordable path for rank and file homebuilders.

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Above, another look at the Zenith Engine forum. I am in the blue shirt, seated next to Pete Krotie of Jabiru, who is answering a question. Also on hand were reps from Rotax, Continental, Robert Helms from UL power and Jann Eggenfelner from Viking. The forum was Sebastien’s idea to give his builders direct access to the information to make an informed choice for themselves. If you would like to read more on this subject, click here:Selecting an engine for your experimental aircraft

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Above, Lynn Dingfelder awaits the launch signal at the Short take off competition. He has the best combination score for low wing Zeniths. This photo was taken by the Zenith staff photographer, and it gives a good look at how streamlined the 28″ wide Corvair is. Few people realize it is 3″ narrower than an O-200, 4″ narrower than a VW, and 7″ narrower than a Lycoming. This is why we make purpose built cowls and nosebowls for Corvair powered planes. This is a good illustration of why the owner of Kitfox suggesting people use his Lycoming Cowls on Corvair installations is silly, akin to putting Christina Aguilera in a dress made for Aretha Franklin because technically they are both singers, when the real point is he makes money by selling copies of Aretha’s dress and hopelessly argues all singers look good in it..

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Above, Grace stands in the Zenith hangar, long after the open house concluded. It was a long week. We prepped for many days straight, drove 1,100 miles to Mexico, had 4 sixteen hour days of Corvair College #30, then two more days of the open house, and then packed up for a long ride home. Let me throw in that we spent the whole time camping with friends on the Airport grounds, and we drove from and to Florida straight through, 24 hours each way. Grace didn’t just put up with this, she thought it was fun. Don’t bother to write in, I already know I don’t deserve to be married to her.

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Above Dave Gardea with his very nice looking 650, now with more than 300 hours on it. For a closer look at this plane, with links to movies: Zenith 650-2700cc Dave Gardea

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Above, the builders of the five planes standing with Sebastien Heintz on the end.

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Above, a candid photo of a moment on the ramp; l-r Bob Styer, Lynn Dingfelder, and Pat Hoyt. A good moment among friends, but none of these guys knew each other outside of Corvair building. Back at home, at work, everyone probably thinks they are nuts for even flying in light planes. At their home EAA chapter, there may not be a single other person who would consider building their own engine. But at Colleges and airshows with other Corvair builders they are instantly at home with new friends, all bound together by a positive outlook and a self-reliant nature. In an EAA with an ever increasing population that just wants to buy things as consumers, we have a home for men who would rather build them.

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Above, the Zenith dinner on Friday night, always a very nice event. This year was my 7th consecutive year at the open house. We have decided to hold the September college at Zenith just before the open house every year because it is a productive and friendly setting, and it meshes perfectly with the Open House.

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The dinner this year gave me a change to say a few words about our friend, Charlie Becker, who is a director at the EAA, a man who played leading roles in both the EAA’s STOL 750 build and the One Week Wonder 750 Cruiser project. Grace and I have known Charlie for more than decade, and I will assure anyone that a finer, more capable, more trustworthy man can not be found in experimental aviation. Charlie was personal friends with the EAA’s founder Paul Poberezney, Charlie understands Pauls’ vision and methods, and a strongly feel that tied with Charlie’s, building, flying and organizational skills, he is one of the most effective advocates and protectors of Homebuilding. Even if you have not met him, I will assure any EAA member that this man has worked tirelessly on causes that you care about strongly. For more thoughts on this get a look at: Speaking of Paul Poberezny.

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Above is a photo you will not see on another engine companies website., Here we have many people loading core engine parts in a crate, long after the show is over. These are parts from builders at CC#30 who will later assemble these into 3,000cc Corvairs at CC#31 in November.

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Grace paused for a moment to shoot it while we were loading up on Saturday afternoon, long after the crowds were gone. Besides Lynn, Pat and Mary, the man in the yellow shirt is 600hr. Corvair/Pietenpol pilot Randy Bush, (Brenda, his better half is in red). I spend a lot of time talking about ‘the Corvair movement’ and ‘Traditional Homebuilders.’ The picture hints at this.

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If Continental or Rotax was leaving a show, no one would expect their customers to say 5 more hours and help their salesmen pack. The difference here is that our builders stay, because they have long known me as a fellow builder, and in many cases as a friend. I have made hundreds of house calls, and have never charged for a single one. They go the extra mile because I have done the same for them before. We attract different builders because we have a different philosophy in all things large and small. A builder who came to CC#30 noted that I am always the last person to sit down and eat dinner. I told him my Father taught me this, and in turn he had learned in from the USMC officers at Inchon. Leadership is understanding that the man at the front of the action is the most important person in the Arena, and in homebuilding, this man is the builder.

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After we were all packed, Grace and I kept up the tradition of taking a dozen people out to dinner at the local Mexican restaurant. Many Corvair pilots, but also members of the Zenith crew, Roger and Steve and friends. It was relaxing to suddenly find ourselves with nothing to do but sit down.

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After dinner we all said goodbye in the parking lot, everyone headed to a motel, and the Zenith guys headed home, and Grace and I decided to log some miles on the path home. We fueled up and I bought a large coffee at the gas station next to Wal-Mart, just as the last light left the sky. Fall was in the night air, and I spent a few minutes speaking with two local guys who had an 8 pointer in the back of their pick-up.

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The weather was clear and we had 1,100 miles to home. Grace, who had worked very hard, was falling asleep before we got to I-70; there is no radio in the Suburban (intentionally) and no cell phone. Just a long quiet night to reflect on the week with a certain sense of accomplishment and a new collection of good memories. Sipping the coffee and rolling along at 65 to 70, I had a real feeling of have just been at the right place, at the right time, and with that past, all was now at ease. I looked at the other cars on the highway and wondered if any of them could have had a memorable week. Like us, they were all headed some where, and I spent a long time on the thought ‘This is Saturday night in America.’ -ww.

Builders:

If you read this site regularly, you have already heard of Jim and Ginger Tomaszewski’s twin project, the JAG-2. They finished both engines for it at Corvair College#31, and we got both of them on the run stand on Sunday for 30 minutes each. They ran flawlessly.

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You can see photos of the nearly done plane at this link: New Photos of JAG-2, a Corvair powered twin. and you can read a longer story on the development of the plane in Jim’s words at this link: JAG-2, Corvair Powered Twin, Jim Tomaszewski, N.Y.

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Above, two more photos of Jim and Ginger with the engines. .

Builders,

Every college gets some of its character from the local host. The Barnwell colleges have a high percentage of Pietenpol builders simply because the host P.F Beck is well-known and respected in the Pietenpol community. Below is a look at some of the Piet builders at Corvair College #31.

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Above, two builders get a look at P.F.’s plane.

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Piet builder Tim Hansen torques his case. Would you like to know why so much gets done at Colleges? What the mood is like? Try this: the photo above was taken at 2 am.

Tim Hansen sent in this photo he calls Hero’s Engine Runs. It was taken of Chuck Cambell as he donned a leather hat and scarf for the first run of his engine. Chuck flew F6F Hellcats in WWII. Yes he is over 90 years old, still in great shape and enjoys learning and building.

Above, at a quieter moment, I go over some details of Chuck’s engine with him. On the left is Keith Goff’s blue Piet engine which also got it first run in at the college.

Above, Piet builder from Nebraska Edi Bickford gets a flight in with P.F Beck.

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Two Piets at sunset.

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Keith Goff enjoys the moment as his engine logs its first run.

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Builders,

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Recipients:

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2008 – Mark Langford – KR2s – 1,000 hrs. on Corvairs; Flew to Oshkosh, SNF, colleges and the KR gathering numerous times. Contributed to flight ops. manual.

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2010 – Joe Horton – KR2s – 825 hrs. on Corvairs; Flew to Oshkosh, SNF, and the KR gathering numerous times. Flown to more Colleges than any other pilot; has flown Coast to Coast and back. Contributed to flight ops. manual.

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2012 – Kevin Purtee and Shelley Tumino – Pietenpol- 345 hrs on plane in short time. Flew to Brodhead several years; Local Hosts for Colleges #22, #28 and #32. Outspoken risk management activists for Piet community.

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Ken holds the trophy at CC#31 Barnwell 2014. 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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2014 CC#31, the first four recipients repeat a 2011 picture on the same spot:

Above, from Corvair College #21. Left to right are Joe Horton, 2010 , Dan Weseman, 2009, P.F. Beck, 2011, and Mark Langford, 2008.

Builders:

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My brother in law Col. John Nerges told me that in 30 years of nursing including heading the nursing intensive care unit of Walter Reed 2003-2005, he never saw a human fight to live with greater will than Major Duckworth.

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From our website in 2009:

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From our website in 2005:

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From our Website in 2008:

Builders,

We have returned from CC#31 in Barnwell, our 5th event with local hosts P.F. Beck and his outstanding team of volunteers. It was a great event, with many planes flown in, many engine built and run, much learned and many friendships, both new and old, strengthened.

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Once we get these things covered, I will write up several photo essays from the college over the next week. For now, a single photo to start with, and a reminder that the sign up for College #32, just 108 days away, is already open: Corvair College #32, Texas Feb, 2015, Sign up open

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Builders,

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The video was developed specifically to send out to all local EAA chapters, to provide subject and content for meetings. Below is the short note from Charlie and the link to the video:

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Above, two more photos of Jim and Ginger with the engines.
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