Corvair - General Info

[daleandee]

Seen these core engines on Homebuilt Airplanes for anyone that may be interested:

http://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29198

Dale Williams
N319WF @ 6J2
Myunn - "daughter of Cleanex"
120 HP - 3.0 Corvair
Tail Wheel - Center Stick
Signature Finish 2200 Paint Job
168.7 hours / Status - Flying
Member # 109 - Florida Sonex Association
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VP7UYEqQ-g

[WaiexN143NM]

Hi dale, all,
I may have mentioned this recently in another thread, but thought i'd put it on here. There are some ads on the zenith site for corvair stuff, engines, parts, nosebowls etc. many parts from WW or flySPA. You dont have to be a member to browse the ads , but to to reply to one if the seller didnt post a phone or email, you will have to sign up , but its very easy.
Www.zenair.com
Scrool half way down and click on builders website, then look for for sale classified ads in a box and link on lower rt side. Enjoy.

WaiexN143NM
Michael

[daleandee]

To any that may be interested:

A gentleman that was building a Corvair powered aircraft had to sell that project recently due to health issues. He still has a brand new Ellison EFS 3A TBI for sale. He is asking $550.00 plus shipping. If interested please PM me and I can put you in touch with him.

* * * * * * * EDIT: Update - The Ellison carb has been sold as of 2/10/2018 * * * * * * *

Dale Williams
N319WF @ 6J2
Myunn - "daughter of Cleanex"
120 HP - 3.0 Corvair
Tail Wheel - Center Stick
Signature Finish 2200 Paint Job
168.7 hours / Status - Flying
Member # 109 - Florida Sonex Association
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VP7UYEqQ-g

[Dennis W.]

For those of you that are flying behind a Corvair, did you modify the airframe and/or the upper and lower engine mount attach points (the aluminum angles where the engine mount bolts on) due to the heavier Corvair......any changes required or is it as simple as bolting up the Corvair mount and then addressing the CG as required.

[jaflint]

No forward fuse mods here. The SPA engine mount bolts right in to the existing A-model provisions. W&B was addressed by mounting the battery in the tail, based on the examples set by Myunn and Wuzmal.

[Dennis W.]

Thanks for the follow-up. What about gross weight....does it stay the same as the original Sonex or can it be increased? Have a ton of questions but am ready to move on from my Aerovee and upgrade to a Corvair. Have located a couple of donor engines and ready to get busy. Has anyone documented how to go about the conversion (the install on the Sonex airframe)?

[daleandee]

Thanks for the follow-up. What about gross weight....does it stay the same as the original Sonex or can it be increased? Have a ton of questions but am ready to move on from my Aerovee and upgrade to a Corvair. Have located a couple of donor engines and ready to get busy. Has anyone documented how to go about the conversion (the install on the Sonex airframe)?

Hi Dennis,

Most Cleanex aircraft have the gross weight increased (as do many Jabiru 3300 builds) and this is allowed by the builder. The inspector/DAR will certainly want it to be within reason. I know of two Cleanex aircraft that had gross weights set at the Light Sport legal limit of 1320 lbs. I didn't go that far. I increased mine about 8% over the original limit.

Install is pretty straight forward using a mount from SPA. Details on my website here: http://websites.expercraft.com/daleandee/

Here is another Cleanex builder site by Clarence Dunkerley: http://websites.expercraft.com/clarenced/

Hope this helps,

Dale Williams
N319WF @ 6J2
Myunn - "daughter of Cleanex"
120 HP - 3.0 Corvair
Tail Wheel - Center Stick
Signature Finish 2200 Paint Job
168.7 hours / Status - Flying
Member # 109 - Florida Sonex Association
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VP7UYEqQ-g

[kmacht]

Anybody have a corvair other than the big bore version installed on their sonex? I am going through the WW manual and there looks to be a significant cost increase (about $3000) to go from the 2700cc motor to a 3000cc big bore. Most of that money comes from the $1700 cost for pistons and cylinders that only WW sells as well as forged crank arms and machine work to the case and heads to install the oversized cylinders. If going with a 2700cc motor you can have the stock cylinders rebored instead of replaced, use stock aftermarket forged pistons for $350 a set instead of $870, use the stock crank arms modified for ARP bolts, and neither the case or heads need machining other than a standard valve job. I'm more interested in reliability than maximum horsepower am wondering if the 300cc increase in power is really worth the $3000 cost.


Keith
#554

[samiam]

Keith - I think some guys have put 100hp Corvairs on their airplanes, but one major consideration is the weight savings on the larger displacement. WW says that the 3000cc is 8 pounds lighter, which may not seem like much, but for an engine that is already on the heavy side it makes a big difference.

For my engine, I also opted for the billet crank, which was another $1500 premium. However, in addition to making the engine stronger, it also shaves a few pounds off of the final weight.

That being said, I am going to have almost the same amount of money in my FWF as if I had put in a Jab 3300 (especially because my kit came with the mount and cowling for that engine). To build my motor is probably somewhere in the neighborhood of $12k. But I will have an engine with a great track record that is made of almost entirely new (USA made) parts and has great power.

There are lots of tradeoffs with engines, but I'm very happy to have gone the Corvair route.

[kmacht]

I could be wrong but I think that the 8lb weight savings on the big bore only applied to earlier versions of his engine. They used vw pistons and shave alot of weight out of the case to make them work. The new piston and cylinders he sells only need minor case machining but I don't think they save the full 8 pounds any more. I haven't decided on the new crank yet. The idea sounds good but not enough are flying yet to make me comfortable that they won't have any service life issues. There is more history on how to make the stock crank work properly. I'm not a fan of being a first adopter on things that go on my airplane.

The point he makes about corvair motors being abundant is true. I posted an ad on Craigslist this past weekend and have already located two 65 motors, one free and the other one pretty cheap.

Keith