Corvair College #10 Part 4
November 10-12, 2006
During the day, I had threaded a crankshaft during a demo. This is generally not a done-at-home operation. I just wanted to
familiarize builders with the required equipment and technique so they could pick someone to do it in their hometown. It is not
a difficult task, but it does require significant muscle work.
A good side shot of Phil's 601, above. He now has about 115 hours on the plane. Phil switched to nickel leading edge Warp Drive blades
just before coming to the College. Gus, who originally test flew the airplane and flew off most of its original hours, flew the
airplane while it was down here and reported it flew even better than when it was brand new. With seven 601s now having flown on
Corvair power, these planes will become ever more frequent in their appearances at air shows.
Dave's Wagabond now has about a hundred hours on it. This airplane is a favorite of many Corvair power advocates. The plane recently
had an extended stay at Dan Weseman's, where it lived side by side with Dan's parents' mint PA-16 Clipper. Dan flew both airplanes
back to back and came back with a very favorable review of Dave's craftsmanship. Although they're physically identical in size,
Dave's airplane is significantly lighter. Its standard Corvair conversion gives away very little to the performance of the Clipper,
equipped with a perfectly overhauled O-235 and a metal prop.
Above is a view of Joe Horton's 3,100cc powered KR-2S. The first look I had at this plane was photos of it in its boat stage which
Joe brought to Corvair College #4. With about 140 hours on the plane, it's making its first appearance at a College. It is fast and
good looking. It swings a 54x60 Sensenich.
Corvair Personal Cruiser in flight, above. At the end of the College, Morgan did a 140 mph flyby down the runway. This angle
shows the airplane's 25 foot span and 3 foot constant chord wing.
Dave and his wife Tammy were only able to make a brief appearance at the College. On Sunday, they came by to socialize for a bit but
took off as seen here and headed home with the last hour of daylight. The airplane fits Dave's personality perfectly.
It is big, strong and unhurried.
Above, Scott Thatcher's engine comes together. To the right of the engine is Dino Bortolin, Canadian 601 XL builder. He was last man
standing when the College
wound down all the way Monday afternoon. To the left of the engine is Zersis Mehta, who has a 601 XL Quick Build kit and picked up one of
the core engines that came in on the trailer.
After the college was over I stopped by Dan Weseman's hangar and shot this photo. Dan and the Cleanex are in the background. The plane in the
foreground
belongs to Chris Smith. It is nicknamed "Son of Cleanex," and it is not a clone, but very close to the Cleanex. It has a 3100 with Falcon Heads
and an MA3-SPA.
The engine was built in our shop by Kevin, and has ARP case studs and a Nitron crank. The exhaust is ceramic coated.
The photo shows an engine run baffle box in place. The red by the prop is the rubber seal for the cowl cheek. I have not updated the Sonex
section of our Web site in a long time
and will do so soon to better reflect what people have done and are working on. There will be no major policy changes, just some updates.
Son of Cleanex should be ready for flight in 2 or 3 weeks, and Chris will give up his position in the Future Cleanex Pilots of America. Bad news
for the next builder,
who's plane will inevitably be called "Bride of Cleanex."
I saved the above photo for last. Mark Langford shot it above our place just before arriving on Friday. I was standing on the side of the
runway admiring a very spectacular sunset
when Steve Glover spotted Mark in the pattern. Grace downloaded a bunch of Mark's photos which I only looked at after the College.
He took a string of 20 or 25 of these
sunset photos on his last 60 miles coming in. From the ground the sky was spectacular. I can only imagine the view aloft. The airport is on
the extreme left; in the center the lights
are just comming up on U.S. 1. The Intracoastal waterway leads under the high bridge in New Smyrna and out to Ponce Inlet and the Atlantic.
This moment in the sky belonged to Mark. There
are countless other moments with every builder's name on them awaiting aloft. Print his photo and tack it up on the wall in your shop. You deserve
your own moment as much as any other
builder. Only persistence will see you through your own project and the day you print your own photo, walk into your shop and replace Mark's with
your very own.
Corvair College #19
Corvair College #18
Corvair College #17
Corvair College #16
Corvair College #14 Part 1
Corvair College #14 Part 2
Corvair College #14 Part 3
Corvair College #14 Part 4
Corvair College #13
Corvair College #12 Part One
Corvair College #12 Part Two
Corvair College #11
Corvair College #10 Part 1
Corvair College #10 Part 2
Corvair College #10 Part 3
Corvair College Canada
Corvair College #9 Part I
Corvair College #9 Part II
Corvair College #9 Part III
Corvair College #9 Part IV
Corvair College #9 Part V
Corvair College #8 Page 1
Corvair College #8 Page 2
Corvair College #8 Page 3
Corvair College #8 Page 4
Corvair College #8 Page 5
Corvair College #8 Page 6
Corvair College #7
Corvair College #6
Corvair College #5
Corvair College #4
Corvair College #3
Corvair College #2
Corvair College #1
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