SonexBuilders.net

Hey, Jill.
Have you received your engine and/or mount from Azalea yet?

No they are currently reworking the jabiru mount i had and i am in no rush on the engine i wont be ready for it till the end of the year or so anyways

OK, thanks, Jill for your reply. I was just checking in. Bill may be the only "qualified" source for building a Corvair mount for a B-model. I hope he makes a jig for it... I suspect there will be many others to follow... especially taildraggers, like I'm hoping for.
On another note, how do you compare the Azalea 5th Bearing with the WW one?

Please do all your research on using Azalea aviation. My experience was less than positive. The work I received was not what I wanted in an airplane part. Many others have had a similar experience.
No one has made a mount for the B model. SPA designed and built the A model mount and stated they will not be making a B model mount in order to keep the peace with Sonex. John wasn’t pleased with the Corvair adaption and that is why it was called the Cleanex.
It is probably best if you guys talking about using a Spyder and having Azalea build a mount to make a Facebook account and do some research. If you do go Azalea you will only be able to buy parts from them. You will have no support from WW or SPA FYI.

To the 3 blade prop:

This is pulled from the WW Flycorvair Facebook group. The topic prompted WW to make a series of 7 posts or so that discussed propeller theory and design.

“Jeremy, putting a 3 blade warp drive prop on a corvair is a bad idea. I have been a warp drive dealer longer than some people on their crew have been alive. I have tested all kinds of combinations, and 3 blades don’t work because the 3 blades have too much area for the amount of HP the engine makes without the tips being heavily tapered, which doesn’t work well,”

@Timmyjane, thanks for your input. Lots to consider.

Timmyjane wrote:Please do all your research on using Azalea aviation. My experience was less than positive. The work I received was not what I wanted in an airplane part. Many others have had a similar experience.

I'm hesitant to weigh in on this because while I've met Bill Clapp and looked at his offerings, I have had no experience with his stuff as I'm solidly in the William Wynne & Dan Weseman camps when it comes to Corvair flight engines.

Having said that I've heard various things about Azalea's offerings and at one point viewed a video showing a Corvair mount from his shop that had some pretty nasty welds on it. If I were looking for a mount for a B model (or the new high wing - yes I might) I'd find someone that was smarter than me to design the mount and then have a certified welder to put it together for me. The Model A mount that my Cleanex uses came from Dan Weseman and it is built very solid. It is designed for aerobatic flight and grass field operations.

Dale
3.0 Corvair/Tailwheel

Dale, thanks for your valuable bits of wisdom, presented in your usual fair and diplomatic style.

Ok all im going to chime in.

azalea. They built the wing tanks kits (about 15) for our sonex/waiex ‘s. a few years ago. woefully disappointed.
months late
instructions a joke.
dirty filthy inside the tanks and some type of sponge installed never disclosed.
what was promised did not show up. aviation grade? lol!
they never installed a set, that was evident. just took some dimensions from the first guy who got a set of tanks on his flying plane.
supplied a roll of gorilla tape for the round tanks / rib area, instead of teflon tape.
supplied cheap amazon electric fuel pumps from china $9.99 instead of facet pumps.
user reviews , dont work, leak, didnt provide check valve or positive block backflow.
JUNK. i cautioned people not to use them. one person did and had a major fuel leak inside his plane.
vent hardware wouldnt work as supplied due to the fiberglass wing tip.
the drain valves need extenders and not all were welded in rotationally correct.
instructions didnt match what we got.
photos on install instructions show welded tabs on outer tank to mount to ouboard rib. what i got was a few hacked off pieces of alum angle and some band straps that were too small to go around the tank.

jeff schultz was the point man on this, im not sure if he ever installed his tanks. i was the first to install
the tanks and came up w procedure and correct hardware to use. i helped a few get their tanks in w
instruction. jeff kindly sent me a couple facet pumps and apologized for the state of the kits.
we paid aviation prices and got walmart quality. i sent jeff a box of hardware so he could get his tanks installed, facet pump teflon tape hardware blue fuel cubes from sonex to prevent wing fuel sloshing. instructions.
the tanks were promised to be shipped in wooden crates. they showed up wrapped in cardboard.
one person paul got 2 kits. it took all day on the phone w bill clapp. he finally went to a ups store on his own and shipped it to the correct purchaser. then to get reimbursed. one person got a tank with a bent flange, another the flange was welded wrong, removed, and patched.
no 2 kits were the same, each one some different hardware.

im glad i have the tanks installed. do i think we got good quality kits for our money? no way.
just revisting this is getting my bp worked up again.

im in the zenith community too., my father and i were building a zenith cruzer together.

many people in the zenith community have had it w azalea. removed their engines. gave up. went with a different motor. sold what they had at a big loss. emails or phone calls not answered for months.
waiting to fly, needed their intake and exhaust manifolds. took a year, when they showed up unusuable.
bad welding warped could not be used.

you do what you want with your money, if you want grief, fustration, anger, stupidity then go for it.
you have been forewarned!


see you all at airventure.

michael.

"RUN TO THE LIGHT, CAROL ANNE!!!"