Corvair College #8 Page 1 November 12-14, 2004
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www.FlyCorvair.com Hangar, Massey Air Ranch, Edgewater, Fla.
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Friends,
By all accounts, Corvair College #8 was the best event yet. We had about 80 people attend. Three graduates of
previous Colleges flew in with their Corvair powered airplanes. Seven engines were run at the College, five
for the very first time. There was a mixture of new faces and familiar friends. About two dozen engines,
in addition to the ones that ran, received serious progress. Because this College was at our home hangar, all
of our tools and test equipment were available for learning, training and testing. In a word, the College was
fun. If you didn't have a chance to attend this one, make plans for next time. Look very closely at the
faces in the photos, and see the smiles. This is learning and progress happening in the company of friends.
This is what experimental aviation's all about.
Before we get into the photos, I'd like to thank Mark Langford, Corvair/KR-2S builder from Harvest, Alabama, and Dave
Poirier, Corvair/Warner Sportster builder from Deltona, Fla., for taking a number of the photos here. We've broken
down the photos into six pages to make them easier to download. Take the time to enjoy them all, and certainly
picture yourself in the next batch we post for the inevitable Corvair College #9.
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Here's a typical photo from Day 1. The engine on the bench belongs to Derek Hulbig, who drove all the
way down from Toronto, Canada. We first met him at Corvair College #7 in Ohio this summer. That was enough of a positive experience
for Derek to drive 24 hours down for this event. As you'll see, he made some serious progress, and had a lot of
fun. Behind Derek is Gus, our test pilot; in the black shirt is Kevin Fahy, who has built a lot of Corvair
engines with me over the years; and in the overalls is Mike Hyers, who drove down from North Carolina with his
friend Jack Cooper. The Corvair Tri-Motor steel tube fuselage is on its nose in the background.
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This is Steve Upson, one of our hangar gang, prepping Greg Jannakos' engine. Greg is a 601 builder from
Georgia who picked up a core engine from us three years ago. This weekend would prove to be a milestone in his
aircraft building project. This run stand is the same piece of equipment we use as a dynamometer when it's
instrumented. However, since most of the engines were brand new, I opted not to run them at full power, which
is required for a dynamometer run. Additionally, setting up the dyno takes quite a bit of attention and
adjustment. The focus of the College is to make progress on builders' engines. We may very well have a
separate Dynamometer College after the New Year, which would focus exclusively on testing engines.
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From left are Bill McManus, 601 builder from Florida just getting started on his Corvair engine; Jack Cooper,
KR-2S builder from North Carolina who built the engine sitting on the table; and Greg Jannakos, 601 builder from
Georgia.
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While table space at the College was tight, getting help from new friends was not a problem. Here, from left, Dean Smith
of Louisiana gets a hand from Bill Taylor of Virginia, while Greg Jannakos preps his ring gear.
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Noted Corvair enthusiast Christian Bobka of Minnesota talks with Gus and Grace. In the background, you can
see many people in the hangar and more out on the ramp. Chris is planning on building a single seat Corvair
powered WWI flavor biplane called a Flitzer Falke.
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Here, Jack Cooper, at left, checks the oil pressure on his engine while Gerry Scampoli, a 601 builder from
Massachusetts, operates the drill which is powering the oil pump in the engine to pre-lube it. We would normally
perform this operation on the oil pump test rig, but Jack brought his engine to the College largely assembled, so
we opted to check it in place.
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Greg is putting the finishing touches on his engine setup before the test run. His engine is a by the book
conversion of a standard 2,700cc Corvair. The test propeller here is a 60", 2-blade, ground adjustable
Warp Drive. We use it for most of our test runs, and the orange stripes increase the visibility of the
prop to observers.
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In addition to engine equipment, we have all of our installation items on display also. The light blue jig
is the 601 Motor Mount fixture. In it is a partially welded 601 mount. The tire and black stand are fixed and
the jig can rotate 360 degrees. The 1 1/2" tubes on the jig allow it to be repositioned and rotated on any axis.
Thus, no weld is made out of position. The welder is a Lincoln 175 Tig. Under the locker is the Whobiscat
feeding station.
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To store an engine, or to do the final stages of assembly, I put it on its nose in one of these stands. It's
made from 5/8" aluminum plate and 2x2 angles. Eight 5/16x1" screws hold it together.
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Larry Hudson, 7/8 scale Fokker D-VIII builder from Indiana, shares a moment with KR-2S builder Glenda McElwee of Orlando, Florida.
This is actually Larry's second engine underway. His first is done, and he enjoyed it enough to get started
on a second for a future project. The smiles on their faces tell you this was not your average technical seminar.
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You know you're having fun when you're smiling while cleaning up greasy parts. Scott Curry of Palm Beach, Fla.,
and Derek Hulbig of Canada flash a smile while working at the wash tank. In the background are two blast
cabinets: one filled with Black Beauty, the other with walnut shells.