William Wynne

Leap Year Update February 29, 2008 Classy "A" Parts Pictured above are 10 of our precision crafted Baffle Kits. We've recently received a large number of these Baffle Kits from our suppliers. All Baffle Kits on order will be mailed Monday via US Postal Service Priority Mail. We apologize for the delay caused by the overwhelming respose. We've now increased the 1.2 year Introductory Price by Fifty Bucks to $349, which includes S&H in the contiguous U.S. of A. Please check www.usps.com for international shipping rates for a 2 pound 11 ounce, 19"x12"x3" box from ZIP Code 32003. These are an "A" Availability item ready for immediate shipment. For these you can mail a check payable to William Wynne at 5000-18 HWY 17 #247, Orange Park, FL 32003, purchase through Our FlyCorvair.com/products.html Baffle Kit page or click on the button below to pay by credit card or eCheck via PayPal: ZenVair 601 Baffle Kit from FlyCorvair.com at $349: Also note that Warp Drive props increased their prices by about 10 percent February 15, 2008. These new prices are now in effect for Warp Drive Props purchased through us, alhtough our Products Page won't reflect new parts prices until next week. Cowling Kits Above is a photo of a half dozen of our Sheet Metal Cowling Kits packaged for shipping Monday. We Thank Everyone for the overwhelming positive response, and again apologize for the delay it caused in the Lovely Shipping Department. To the three original orders we have on hand at the Introductory Price, we will ship these Friday if you don't mind, and send some other goodies if possible in the meantime. The new Cowling Kit price of $525 including S&H in the contiguous U.S.A. is now in effect. Please check www.usps.com for international shipping rates, including Canada, for a 14 pound, 26"x26"x6" package from ZIP Code 32003. To get your ZenVair 601 Cowling Kit, please mail a check payable to William Wynne at 5000-18 HWY 17 #247, Orange Park, FL 32003 or click on the button below to pay by credit card or eCheck via PayPal: ZenVair 601 Cowling Kit from FlyCorvair.com at $525 including contiguous U.S. S&H Thank you. Six Weeks To Sun 'N Fun February 25, 2008 Update 1/3 CoreVair/Skylite Progress Ed Fisher, above, recently drove down from South Carolina to put a weekend of work into the Skylite/Vair combiNation. Friends, Above is a good look at the Ed Fisher Skylite. The spinner above is the same 10" UHS model we used on the ZenVair 701. It is spaced off the Gold Hub by a two-blade Warp Drive borrowed from the Dynomometer. The actual flight prop is yet to be determined. Ed made the Fiberglas Nosebowl. The blue tape outlines the shape of the simple sheet metal wrap cowling. The Motor Mount is the finished flying part I welded the weekend Ed was visiting. This Ultravair was set up for a rear Continental-style mount. Above, it's set up for our traditional Corvair style Bed Mount. The Skylite's Mount looks like our traditional ZenVair 601 Mount. It only weighs 2 pounds. Look for Ed and the Skylite in the Automotive Engine Row in the field of Homebuilts at Sun 'N Fun in Lakeland, Fla., April 8-13 2008. Ed has been very busy hammering out 601 Motor Mounts for us. Orders placed with us are drop shipped from Ed's by his lovely wife Val. Ed easily makes six Mounts a week because he welds them from precision CNC machined tubing sets that we engineered specifically for the application. We're in the design process with 701 Motor Mounts now and anticipate having the first of these available by Sun 'N Fun as well. Mass Production Starter Brackets Above is a dipstick side (pilot sits on the other side) glance at our new CNC machined aluminum Low Profile Front Starter Bracket. We've traditionally fabricated these as elaborate steel weldaments. Kevin and I used to make them in blocks of 20 pairs, and no matter how we tweaked the process, it was still very time consuming. The influx of capital from the sale of ZenVair #1 N1777W is being directly applied to converting as many products as possible in our FlyCorvair.com Catalog to direct CNC machined parts. Each set of Starter Brackets includes a full set of directions with illustrative photos, as well as a hearty Thank You from Team Flying Scooby, with the youngest Team Member picutred above. Above is a good example of the process of converting to CNC production. Here are 30 of the first 50 sets of Low Profile Front Starter Brackets. They come complete with detailed Instructions plus all the required hardware. If you are a builder with Starter Brackets on order, know that they are on the way Monday via U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail. Since I can now get 50 more Sets at any time with a single phone call, this item is now Class "A" Availability, i.e. in stock for immediate shipment from here on out. The trend toward CNC production, coupled with contracting with reliable, extremely technically skilled guys like Ed Fisher, means we're finally, permanently conquering availability issues on Our Catalog of Parts. An issue that surfaced recently is who is considered to be a legitimate source of our parts. The answer is simple: We are the primary source of all the parts in Our Catalog. The only two exceptions are: On the West Coast, ZenVair 601 builder and pilot Woody Harris keeps a selection of Conversion Manuals, 601 Installation Manuals, and DVDs on hand so he can spread the word of the Corvair movement at West Coast air shows now and then that we cannot attend. Our Man Down Under, Darren Barnfield, covers Australia and New Zealand. Although we're glad to ship to the Southern Hemishpere, Darren is a friendly and timely source of information and parts to builders there. We'll shortly be increasing his stock of available parts beyond the basics. You can contact Darren at engineeredextremes@bigpond.com In the past, our 1999 Conversion Manual and Hybrid Studs were in the Clark's Corvairs catalog. Additionally, Grace Ellen and myself made the decision to underwrite some past traveling expenses of KR builder/pilot Bill Clapp by providing him with a limited number of Manuals to sell at air shows. These arrangements are no longer in place, and the only legitmate Manuals and Parts come from only us, Woody and Darren. It should be noted that obviously Gus and Kevin utilize our parts in the production of their businesses' Corvair work. We even sell parts to a person in Kentucky who uses them only to complete engines that he sells to others. But Grace and I would like to point out that anyone who is offering parts that closely resemble the things we've painstakingly developed is likely attempting to profit from counterfeits. If you have any questions about this, please e-mail or call us. Here's a quick look at a lot of other parts going out the door. The envelopes contain Conversion Manuals and 601 Installation Manuals. While we've traditionally printed these in house, our industrial quality Ricoh printer started giving us fits in January and we have now opted to have them printed by professionals at a cost increase we're willing to absorb. This is a significant time savings to Grace, who printed, punched and assembled all our Manuals with a little help from our friends here and there (Note from Grace: Thanks DND -Yipee Cuy-O Calle!). Also pictured above is our 7075 Safety Shaft. We're now shipping these with Nickel Plated Nuts and Washers. Kevin and I have been installing these on Production Engines for the past year, and I'm now integrating them into Safety Shaft orders. Technical News You Can Use Above are two cam thrust washers for a Corvair. On the lathe, I've cut a slight bevel to provide clearance on the side of the washer that touches the cam. My research into building Corvair engines is continuous and ongoing. The unbeveled washer is an aftermarket part supplied by several of the Corvair parts houses. When pressing on a new cam gear, this will make the cam gear walk slightly out of square at the last moment. After years of installing countless cam gears without problem, we'd recently had trouble getting several of them to seat on their cams and hold tight their washers. Ignoring this problem, people selling cams with gears on had been leaving the washer loose as a really poor fix. It took a while to determine what was causing this issue, but a slight relief on the washer makes the difference. Check back here for another update shortly that will cover Oil Pans, Distributors and Warp Drive Spinner Bulkheads. Corvair Powered 701 Flying In Florida Corvair powered 701 taxis out before its first flight. Friends, The Corvair powered 701 made its first flights this week. Test pilot Gus Warren was at the controls. He reports it is flying well, with no issues. The aircraft is an E-LSA with a short test period. We'll certainly have it on hand at Sun 'N Fun April 8-13 in Lakeland, Fla. Gus will be posting more information about the flight testing on his Web site, flywithgus.com. Gus holds open the cowl of the 701 to show off the FlyCorvair.com engine installation. In order to serve the most builders and get the best use out of all of our fully flight tested products, the 701's engine installation is very close to a 601's. The engine itself is identical. This 701 sports a Gold Prop Hub, Gold Oil System, Niagara Cooler and an Electronic/Points Ignition System. It also shares in common with the 601 the Baffle Kit, Corvair Nosebowl, 2- blade 66" Warp Drive propeller, and most of the Exhaust System. Its unique components are the Motor Mount and Intake Manifold. After flight testing, we will post a complete performance report, and make these products available. Up Next Gig Giacona's engine. Production on regular items continues. Above is Gig Giacona's engine in its final assembly stage. Like all the other engines we build, it features ultra high quality Falcon Heads from Mark Petniunas in Oregon, Wisc. Project Progress Grand Integral Spencer Gould with his SP-500 project. Spencer Gould is our Chief CAD Engineer. His day job is working for Piper Aircraft. Here he stands with the mostly complete fuselage of his Corvair powered, single seat, aerobatic capable, all composite airplane. He's an expert at making parts in simple molds that you would swear came from the highest quality kits. Contact! magazine arranged for Spencer to give a forum on composites in Contact!'s Auto Engine Forum Tent during Sun 'N Fun 2008. Spencer's composite work is exceptionally clean, but the most impressive thing about the plane is that he has engineering calculations to back up every single piece and layup in it. If you're into composite homebuilts, come to Sun 'N Fun and learn a lot from this guy. Blast From The Past. I stand next to my 1967 Monza, above, in Monument Valley in the four-corners region during a 1992 8,000 mile circumnavigation of America. The 110 hp engine in this car was remanufactured into our original 2,700 cc engine installed in our 601 in 2004. I still have the engine today, and it awaits return to flight in a special project yet to be determined. Up Next: Intake Manifolds for Max Marshall and Other Patient Builders Intake Manifold carb mounting flanges production sequence. I'm pushing through a large batch of Intake Manifolds to bring us up to date on orders. Above is a photo that shows my sequence of steps in production of the carb mounting flange of our Manifold. In the next round of Intakes, this process will be expedited by having the tube shaped by a CNC mill. For now, here's my technique that's produced dozens of Manifolds feeding Flying Corvairs. From left to right, above: 1. 304 stainless tube is cut and the ends are squared on the lathe; 2. I tig weld on a CNC manufactured 304 stainless carb flange and simultaneously purge inside of tube with argon; 3. I chuck the part in the lathe, smoothly throat it and polish the flange; 4. I use a 1.5" hole saw to cut the saddle where the flange attaches to the main Intake tube (as seen in photo below); 5. Saddle trimmed to final weld configuration. Step 5 of Intake carb mounting flange production. A bimetal hole saw turning 250 rpm in my mill cuts its way through in about 30 seconds a side. The 90 degree jig tool holds the correct flange orientation during the cut. There's thousands of small hidden steps in pioneering and producing our inexpensive flight proven products. I'm always glad to share what I know with homebuilders who want to work on their own stuff. Although most of our Production Components have moved to CNC automated production, most were at one time handmade by me in house. It is for this reason I've earned the respect of and get along well with hardcore homebuilders. Gold Oil System An exploded view of the complete Gold Oil System Assembly. I can honestly say that I've done more testing on the Corvair's oil system than any other person alive. Using the Google [TM] search box on the bottom of our FlyCorvair.com Home Page, you scan through 10 years of photos of tests run with our purpose built test rig, Dynomometer and dozens of Flying Planes. You can see Corvair coolers packed in ice, aircraft running at a 22 degree angle of attack, 30 oil pumps being rebuilt and tested in our hangar at a whack, and many other photos documenting our extensive work. You'll find an excellent primer on the Corvair's oil system in my Sunday Papers On Oil Systems. The Gold Oil System is the ultimate flight proven system for the Corvair. We've been making them for more than a year, they've been fitted to dozens of airplanes, and they're flying across the country. The new 701 has one, as does Gordon Alexander's PegVair N129LZ, Steve Makish's KR-2 N841SM, and Murray Rouse's ZenVair 601 N47186. It's an elegantly simple system that serves many airframes. Pictured left to right on top above: A K&N HP 1008 oil filter with internal bypass; custom CNC made, nickel plated through bolt ($39); Oil Cooler Sandwich Adapter with internal bypass ($119 complete with fittings); and Gold Oil Filter Housing ($239). Below are two 90 degree full flow hose ends. These attach to the bypass and would lead directly to the oil cooler. To the right of the hose ends is a CNC fabricated aluminum plate we use to block off the stock oil cooler location. Gold pieces. Above is a front and back view of our Gold CNC Sandwich Adapter. The black square O-ring sits in a deep machined groove. It's from an off-the-shelf oil filter. The three small pieces at left above form the oil cooler bypass inside the Gold Sandwich Adapter. In the development of this part, the spring was by far the most difficult piece to get right. It must unseat the check ball at exactly 7 psi. The ball has a small fraction of a square inch of area, and the spring is made to exacting standards for us by a company that manufactures certified springs for aerospace applications. A very small bag of these springs costs several hundred dollars. We do not make things that are "good enough"; we make things that are right. Three views of Gold Oil Filter Housing. While small enough to hold in your hand, this CNC housing consumed an enormous amount of developmental work 18 months ago. A close look reveals diagonally bored oil passages that required a 5-axis CNC mill to produce the part. The 1/2" NPT port accepts all temperature senders and the dual 1/8" NPT ports cover pressure and switches. This Gold Oil System bolts directly in place of the stock Corvair oil system and requires no machining. It is designed to work with our other Flight Proven Components. Silver pieces. Every now and then, someone on the Internet crops up with the idea of making an adapter to remote the oil cooler from the stock oil cooler mounting location. We tested this idea many years ago. I retrieved these pieces from the bottom of our Old Idea Bin. Ten years ago, I had an oil system on our Corvair Powered Pietenpol that worked from the stock oil cooler mounting points. My Sunday Papers Oil System article explains the downsides of remoting the cooler from this location. One negative aspect which I haven't previously covered is the excessive amount of internal 90 degree turns inside the engine. The stock Chevrolet system obviously worked in the car, and we've certainly flown them for many years. But a high performance oil system is handicapped by requiring the oil to flow through the restrictive passageways. Additionally, any system directly running a cooler from the stock location requires the use of the stock Chevy cooler bypass in the Rear Oil Accessory Case. After having personally built and tested more than 150 Rear Oil Covers, I can attest to the fact that many of these bypasses bleed down or have weak springs. This observation sent me in pursuit of the Gold Oil System with its brand new, all-metal bypass. When the Gold Oil System is installed, the GM bypass is removed and a greatly streamlined oil system with all new bypasses allows the system to function at the peak of efficiency. This last point is not a small one, nor a marketing ploy. Notably, Mark Langford, who runs an entirely different oil system applicable to his rear starter setup, recognized this improvement and integrated it into his own aircraft. When Grace completes her January 2008 organization and shipping automation, we will have a Products Page for the Gold Oil System, as well as all Manuals, DVDs and Class A Availability Products ordered after her Dec. 23, 2007 holiday shipping cutoff date sent out via U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail. For those who want to get their Gold Oil System orders in before the rush, please send a check payable to William Wynne, 5000-18 HWY 17 #247, Orange Park, FL 32003. On Deck: Oil Pans And Starter Brackets Builders awaiting an Oil Pan or Starter Brackets from us, take heart: I have made a long awaited breakthrough in Oil Pan manufacturing with a large CNC manufacturing house. Whereas they were previously a weldement that took many, many long hours per Oil Pan, they are now being fabricated by an entirely different process. With a phone call, I will be able to order more Oil Pans than I could make in a month. The new Oil Pans will be approximately 8 ounces heavier than our Flight Light Welded Pans. I'm still willing to make welded pans for anyone with good reason trying to break the record on the lightest Corvair engine ever. We're about three weeks away from the first delivery of Oil Pans. Over the years, I've made several hundred sets of welded Low Profile Front Starter Brackets. I'm now transitioning them to a CNC parts set. They're actually slightly lighter in aluminum than steel. We will fill backorders with these upgraded parts after they are here and flight tested. Distributor bodies are our next order of business. Builders can be confident that we're reinvesting heavily in the Corvair to eliminate back orders and improve the quality and availability of all the parts in Our Catalog. Again we thank builders for their patience. 2008 Aviation Events Of Interest Please e-mail your local av event info with "Event" in the subject line and check this page throughout 2008 for additions LSA Expo Sebring, Fla., Jan. 17-20, 2008 Sun ’N Fun, Lakeland, Fla., April 8-13, www.sun-n-fun.org EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Wisc., July 28-Aug. 3, www.eaa.org Wheels and Wings Annual Airplane and Car show in conjuction with the County Fair, Osceola, Wisc., Sept. 6 KR Gathering 2008, Sept. 19-20, Mt. Vernon, Illinois, www.krnet.org Winter Break: TBA in 2008 at www.FlyCorvair.com/hangar.html Now At The Hangar June 2011 At The Hangar May 2011 At The Hangar April 2011 At The Hangar March 2011 At The Hangar January 2011 At The Hangar December 2010 At The Hangar November 2010 At The Hangar October 2010 At The Hangar August 2010 At The Hangar July 2010 At The Hangar May 2010 At The Hangar April 2010 At The Hangar January 2010 At The Hangar December 2009 At The Hangar November 2009 At The Hangar October 2009 At The Hangar September 2009 At The Hangar August 2009 At The Hangar July 2009 At The Hangar June 2009 At The Hangar May 2009 At The Hangar April 2009 At The Hangar March 2009 At The Hangar January 2009 At The Hangar December 2008 At The Hangar October 2008 At The Hangar September 2008 At The Hangar August 2008 At The Hangar July 2008 At The Hangar June 2008 At The Hangar May 2008 At The Hangar April 2008 At The Hangar March 2008 At The Hangar January 2008 At The Hangar Christmas 2007 At The Hangar November 2007 At The Hangar October 2007 At The Hangar September 2007 At The Hangar August 2007 At The Hangar July 2007 At The Hangar June 2007 At The Hangar April 2007 At The Hangar March 2007 At The Hangar February 2007 At The Hangar January 2007 At The Hangar December 2006 At The Hangar Part 1 December 2006 At The Hangar Part 2 December 2006 At The Hangar Part 3 December 2006 At The Hangar Part 4 November 2006 At The Hangar October 2006 At The Hangar September 2006 At The Hangar August 2006 At The Hangar July 2006 At The Hangar June 2006 At The Hangar May 2006 At The Hangar At The Hangar In April 2006 At The Hangar In March 2006 At The Hangar In February 2006 At The Hangar In January 2006 At The Hangar In December 2005 At The Hangar In November 2005 At The Hangar In October 2005 At The Hangar In September 2005 At The Hangar In July 2005 OSH, Illinois and SAA June 13, 2005 At The Hangar June 13, 2005 Part II At The Hangar In May 2005 At The Hangar In April 2005