The Corvair Powered Zenair 601XL
|
February 24, 2004
|
|
Friends,
We'll start this month's update with a little bit of other news from the Corvair Flyer Hangar. Above are
Bob Lester, far, and Steve Makish, near, flying their Corvair powered KRs over the Atlantic 10 miles from our
new hangar. They have about 210 hours on Corvair power between the two planes.
Above is a look behind our 601's firewall. You can see the Bosch coils inside, with the MSD coil selector
on the tray and the MSD firewall pass through on the right hand side.
|
The Bosch coils above are the recommended coil. They have internal resistors and come with brackets.
I trimmed the bracket to the shape on the left.
|
|
Above, Steve Upson works on the 601 cowling plug. He spent another 15 hours on it after this photo
was taken.
|
Above is a top view of the 601. Note how the aluminum intake pipes lean inward. All hoses are Earl's AN-.
Firewall to distributor cap high tension line is well restrained, in fire sleeve. The engine uses both electric
and mechanical fuel pumps. It will be set up with my Front Starter Kit, rear John Deere generator, and remote
oil cooler.
Here's a good look at the shape of the 601, above. You can clearly see how well my Front Starter fits
in the 13" Spinner package.
|
|
You can see the ARP head studs available from SC Performance in the photo above (test data will be
available soon), as well as the ARP case studs, SC/Corvair polished rods with ARP bolts, and billet failsafe
gear. This is first class work at an excellent value.
The MA3-SPA carburetor is mounted to the bottom of the engine in the photo above. The fuel system components
are on the left, oil system on right. The gasoclator is from Andair, electric pump is Facet to mechanical pump, and
return to fuel sensor log is above the gascolator. Pressure switches, gauges and primer are on the
log. The end of the log is connected to the carburetor.
The oil system log has mechanical pressure, temperature and 20psi switches. The cooler is B&M, made by Long
in Canada. It's marketed by various brands.
|
The oil cooler, above, will be fed by hose from the top baffling, which has a flapper door inside to
facilitate fast oil heat up.
|
"You could build an airplane without it, but I wouldn't fly it," Col. John Gus Warren says.
Gus Warren shows off his copy of AC-43.13-1B/2A, above. The FAA considers this approved technical data for
Acceptable Methods, Techniques and Practices for Aircraft Inspection, Repair and Alterations. Every week,
I read questions on the Internet which are obviously from people who do not own this book. Sadly, there are
often responses from people who don't own a copy either. This book is the bible for A&P mechanics. There
are no wrong answers in it. When I showed up for my first day at Embry Riddle, I was issued a copy. The department
chairman came in and said, "Read it closely. Many people paid with their lives for the knowledge contained here."
It's available from the EAA bookstore for $19.95. Call 1-800-843-3612.
Thank you.
William Wynne
|