The more I see of this engine the more I like it. I'm considering building a Panther with the Corvair. For those who may be flying behind one, what fuel burns can one expect from this engine?
The more I see of this engine the more I like it. I'm considering building a Panther with the Corvair. For those who may be flying behind one, what fuel burns can one expect from this engine?
Mark
2003 RANS S-10
2011 RANS S-6S
Zenith Cruzer
www.aircraftstickers.com Very cool aircraft stickers. Vans, RANS, Kitfox...more!
I haven't flown with one yet, but I purchased a copy of William Wynn's conversion manual and found it to be well worth the price. Do you need any help finding a copy?
Mark,
I now have 80 hours on my 2700cc Corvair-powered Zenith 601XL and I'm very happy with it. My full-throttle fuel flow rate on climbout is 8.7 gph. In cruise configuration around 2700 rpm and leaned to 90% rich of peak I burn 6 gph. It is a very smooth running engine with plenty of power. I suggest you order a conversion manual from William Wynne and go from there. His website is flycorvair.com
Ken Pavlou
N678AK
ditto.Originally Posted by annken100
What is the availability of engines & parts like on these? The last year of production was 1969. A couple of my car show friends restore Corvairs & they are always scrounging for parts & hoarding whatever they find.
I've not had any problems acquiring Corvair engine parts. To convert the engine for aircraft use the minimum required parts are the case, heads, oil accessory case, bottom cylinder tins, and distributor. Everything else is easily available from various suppliers.
Ken Pavlou
N678AK
If you really want to build and fly a Corvair, I would suggest checking out <http://http://www.corvaircraft.org/> and subscribing to the email forum. That will put you in touch with lots of other Corvair builders that can recommend good sources for parts, and other things you should do to this engine if you want a reliable powerplant. FWIW, the selling point of the Corvair is that it's cheap (for the builder on a budget). But by the time you get a nitrided 4340 crank with properly radiused journals, a fifth bearing, it's not nearly as inexpensive as advertised.
-CubBuilder
I agree with cubbuilder, the Corvair is not cheap, then again, what is in aviation? The Corvair is an inexpensive viable engine choice when compared to more expensive engines such as rotax and jabiru. I have $10k firewall forward in my 601. That includes the engine, all conversion parts, fifth bearing, baffles, mount, cowl, prop, spinner, fuel pumps, and exhaust. If one's goal is to be cheap then I would suggest another hobby.
The important thing is to follow a proven path with the Corvair conversion. I followed William Wynne's conversion to the letter and have very good results so far. In 80 hours I've not had to adjust a single thing. It starts easy, runs smooth, and so far has been very reliable.
Ken Pavlou
N678AK
I know of a number of persons that have had problems with the Corvair. Mainly crank failures also one, now possibly two cam gear failures. Read and talk with as many persons as possible before jumping in completely. I heard these have been used in Pietenpols (sp?) for many years with out problems. Those running them in KRs with shorter props and higher RPMs (?) are what I've seen and heard most about with those issues. Nitrided cranks and the "5th bearing" might have resolved the crank issue. I've also heard of a $2k forged crank that I'm sure would be a sweet addition for this application and should removed any doubt on the crank failure issue. One KR2S I know of well, has the greatest sounding, powerful, somewhat compact Corvair power plant install imaginable. I have most of what's needed to build one of these but that project is on hold pending other aircraft projects that come first. I'd really like to put a Corvair in something. They sure are a smooth running powerplant that should be a good option for aircraft use.
Last edited by C150L; 08-02-2014 at 10:10 AM.
What is the availability of engines & parts like on these?
From FlyCorvair.com, "The Corvair is a General Motors designed engine, manufactured by Chevrolet. 1.8 million engines were built in the Tonawanda New York engine plant between 1960 and 1969."
I believe that Lycoming & Continental have built a few hundred thousand engines combined, in their corporate histories.
There are hundreds of hours of worthwhile reading on William Wynne's website answering all these questions and more.
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