Corvair College #10 is now complete. It was a tremendous success by any measure. Consider the numbers: 70-80 builders
from 19 different states, and one from Canada. Nine Corvair powered aircraft were
on hand. Here's approximately how far they flew to get here:
The Wynnes, 601 XL taildragger, based at our shop
Many of the people in attendance said it was our best event ever. From a personal perspective, the new format
allowed much better transfer of information, and a lot more exchange of ideas and fun among builders and pilots. Builders
flew orientation flights in six of the nine aircraft on hand. Of the other three, Morgan's plane is a single seater, an important family
issue allowed Dave and his wife Tammy to attend only briefly on Sunday, and Rick's plane is still in its 40-hour test phase, with the first
flight Saturday morning. This great level of pilot/builder interaction and exchange of experience was exactly what we were working for.
Special thanks goes to Mark Langford, who provided many of the photos you see here. If you attended and have a few photos you'd like
to share, please send them in by e-mail.
We'll have a follow up page for those.
The week before Corvair College was a very busy one. Rick Lindstrom of Kit Planes magazine flew in for the final work and
inspection of his 601 XL. It passed its inspection without a hitch two days before the College. Rick, seen here sitting in the
cockpit conversing with Gus, has made the building of the plane the subject of a series of articles which will appear in
Kit Planes. This will certainly raise the stock and credibility of Corvair builders across the board. His aircraft is
equipped with a complete glass cockpit. We'll have more details on this aircraft shortly on our new Zenith/Corvair Web site,
ZenVair.com.
Bill Clapp came in a few days early to help with the prep work. He drove down in his restored 1966 Corvair coupe, which he painted to match his
airplane. He worked like a dog for several days, and left on a 4 1/2 hour ride home at midnight the day before the College. His
airplane roared over the hangar later that morning about 10 a.m. Above, he's running up Dr. Steve Mineart's 601 XL engine. This is
one of the last engines that returned to the shop for a nitrided crank exchange. We're hoping to see Steve's airplane airborne in
the Spring. Watching the run-up is Dick Diebel, Steve Glover's future father-in-law. Dick and Steve came down days early to help prepare.
I'm kneeling down with an infrared temperature gun comparing the temps of the individual exhaust stacks to ensure the engine's
running evenly. This is quicker and more accurate than using six EGTs. The engine ran beautifully.
Mark Langford took this photo inside his KR's cockpit on the way down. The laptop is giving him exceptionally good HSI information.
Although I'm something of a purist and vote for simplicity, I'll easily concede that there's been an astounding increase in the
quality and availability of this type of system in the past few years. It's driven mostly by homebuilders and non-traditional
sources. It's a trend that's yet to see decent coverage in magazines. Grace pointed out that you can see Mark's reflection in the
screen as he's taking the photo.
A mixture of experience, flying and creativity. From left above, Bob Lester of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., whose Corvair/KR-2 is
currently undergoing overhaul and modification; Joe Horton of Coopersburg, Pa., and Bill Clapp of Valdosta, Ga., who flew in their
KR-2Ss; Neal Fulco of Louisiana, who's building a custom-designed composite and aluminum 3,100cc sport plane; and Billy Lewis of
Orange City, Fla., who is making progress on a Corvair powered Vision. If fast two-seaters are your taste in Corvair powered airplanes,
realize that the College is the place to tap the flying and building experience of these Corvair builders in a friendly, fun setting.
Friday was check in day at the College. A lot of builders showed up and the mood was upbeat as friendships and acquaintances from the
year before were renewed. Most of the visitors drifted away by 10 p.m. to get some rest before the long Saturday. The weather
Saturday was forecast to be clear and flat calm at sunrise. Gus, Rick and I planned the first flight of his plane for 7 a.m., before
anyone arrived. Prep work for the College kept me working at the hangar till 3:30 a.m. Gus and Rick returned in the morning, and
after one more careful inspection, and an idle adjustment on the carb, Gus took the plane up for a very smooth first flight. In the
photo above, Rick proudly moves the newest Corvair powered airplane in the fleet.
Builders and pilots crowded in the hangar for the morning kickoff. Three and half hours of sleep and a half gallon of coffee are no one's
idea of speech preparation. But the mood was great, and we started the day on a high note.
In the above photo I'm introducing Rick Lindstrom to the group. Rick is a longtime contributing editor for Kit Planes magazine
who wrote a very favorable review two years ago of our work with Corvairs. He jokes that he's such a good writer, he convinced himself
he needed his own Corvair powered plane. People who've followed my writing for a long time might remember that I have occasionally been a
harsh critic of Kit Planes. In an earlier era, I felt that Kit Planes catered to people who were perenially spectators
in aviation rather than emerging builders. The management and editorial staff of Kit Planes has changed dramatically in the
past three years. They're now very much in tune with hardcore homebuilding. The fresh perspective of Brian Clark and the experience of
Marc Cook have allowed the staff to change the content of the magazine dramatically. I look forward to a lot of positive coverage of
the Corvair movement in upcoming issues of Kit Planes.
I introduced all the pilots who flew in and presented each with a very special Corvair College #10 cap exclusively for fly in pilots.
Joe Horton is wearing his above, as he chuckles at something overdramatic I'm saying. The first of many of my Capt. Kirk moments
at the College.
Steve Mineart's engine in a shipping rack, above. These racks are made from 2x6s standing on edge. They're drilled to allow the 3/8"
exhaust studs to drop in the holes, and support the engine by the heads. No Corvair should rest on its oil pan, ever. Doing so
will invariably squash the gasket, and start an oil leak.
Mark Petniunas of Falcon cylinder head fame came down early and stayed through the College, volunteering his efforts to teach builders
about engines. Many people commented that he was a very funny guy. In front of Mark are the stacks of brand new catalogs provided free
by Clark's Corvairs for all builders in attendance.