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  1. W

    Pietenpol engine selection

    Builders: I read through the posts on this topic, and a lot of the stuff said is just guys kicking ideas around, and there is nothing wrong with that. If guys want a glance at a number of flying Corvair Piets check this out...
  2. W

    Icon A5 Update - No Deliveries!?!

    Mr. Berson It is kind of a seedy place, I am sure fund managers expect establishments that are 1000 X more pleasant. If a powered parachute company needed some good press, it would serve the function, but one would have to be the world's greatest salesman to close a deal for serious funding...
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    Icon A5 Update - No Deliveries!?!

    Thoughts on Icon articles: All the stuff I write on my website is just directed to people who might be called traditional homebuilders, the learn, build and fly people. The only two points I wanted to make in the Icon/unicorn story come down to this: Aviation 'journalism' doesn't always have...
  4. W

    Icon A5 Update - No Deliveries!?!

    Mr. Berson, I second your thoughts about Bob Whittier. I have long said he is the finest aviation journalist ever. I don't know if you were ever fortunate enough to know him well, but in addition to having read several hundred of his articles, I had many hours in person with him. He worked for...
  5. W

    Alert on Azalea LLC and Bill Clapp

    Mr. Fritz, My comment about Moody Bible institute was not an attack on the school, it was just to point of that the school produces mechanics, and Mr. Clapp did not get an engineering degree there. The Comments on the Mark Langford crank thread indicate that a large number of the frequent...
  6. W

    corvair 5th bearing type

    Ross, Looking at this objectively, Mr, Clapp states that in 7 or 8 years the "Aeromax LLC IFB" design only produced 20 flying examples and a high time aircraft of 500 hours. If the average time was 100 hrs, than the total fleet time is only 2,000 hr. In many previous posts you stated that this...
  7. W

    Information and Products for Corvair Power - Azalea Aviation

    Ross, The high time Corvair pilot is a Pietenpol builder named Tom Brown from WI, he can be seen in a number of photos on my website. He has 1,600 hours on his plane. Mr. Clapp failed to mention that he was an employee of mine. In 2006 the EAA put his KR on the cover, and in the story he...
  8. W

    Alert on Azalea LLC and Bill Clapp

    To anyone considering working with Azalea LLC or Bill Clapp of Valdosta GA. Mr Clapp failed to mention in his posts that he was a 50% partner, and eventually the sole owner of the now Defunct LLC "Aeromax" They operated for several years, selling the same products he mentions here. The Company...
  9. W

    FAULTY ROCKER ARMS: CORVAIR

    Don: You are mistaken in your assumption that Mr. Clapp has valid comments on this. We have sent the failed parts to metals labs, and also sent samples from the same sets that didn't fail. The primary culprit is the Chinese rockers are far thinner in the ball area. This has been carefully...
  10. W

    Additional information rescource - Mark Langford

    Builders: There can be no serious argument against builders accessing as much information as possible when they are building a plane. Risk Management and common sense dictate getting information from as many different qualified sources as possible. This thread is to share with builders the...
  11. W

    Debate about Mark Langford's 3rd crank failure

    Speaking of the title of this thread: The distinguishing characteristics of Marks engine were 8409 GM crank 3100cc Rear starter Belt driven rear alternator ww 5th bearing. This version of the motor went 450 hours in Mark's KR-2s before the break. For comparison, the closest other plane in...
  12. W

    Debate about Mark Langford's 3rd crank failure

    Ross, I have no idea how long it has been since you held a Corvair head in your hands, or how many you worked with, but coincidental to the discussion, I spent all weekend prepping 16 pairs of heavy cast 66-67 110 heads for processing, starting with removing the seats and guides, milling off...
  13. W

    Debate about Mark Langford's 3rd crank failure

    Not to be argumentative, but just looking at a more typical example that may be a lot closer to what people are building and flying in some numbers, think this cooling comparison over: O-320 is a great engine, reliable, and unless you are trying to use it at Reno, has no cooling issues if used...
  14. W

    Debate about Mark Langford's 3rd crank failure

    If you study what is being built today, a Corvair builder has the option of getting very close to a "new" engine already. If you get a look at the engine in the SPA Panther prototype, it has very few parts that ever drove around the block in a car. Read Why Not the Panther engine? | flycorvair...
  15. W

    Designed for Corvair Power - Panther / Cruiser / SP-500

    Below are links to thee different single seat aircraft, all designed to be kits or plans built aircraft. I know all of the designers well. The engines are regular Corvair flight engines as we teach builders to make them. I have great respect of any person who meets the challenges of building and...
  16. W

    Debate about Mark Langford's 3rd crank failure

    Mr, Kuykendall; It seems likely the KR-1 you saw in CA may have been Richard Shirley's. He is from Seal Beach and flies out of Corona, but the plane is 3300 Jab powered not a Corvair. I am pretty sure there has never been a KR-1 with a Corvair yet, and I know Richard and flies all over the...
  17. W

    Planes Flying on Corvair Power -2015

    Mr Lupi, A 3600 rpm Corvair can fly a 54 x 58 wood Sensenich to about 190-200 without the tips being supersonic. 4500 rpm is out of my experience base, but on a direct drive engine, I suspect that you will be beyond the point of diminishing returns. Alan: The KR net is a site run for KR...
  18. W

    Debate about Mark Langford's 3rd crank failure

    Mr, Peoppastie, As Mr Autodidact pointed out, The photo is of a Dan Weseman 5th bearing. It is on an engine going together in my shop, but this is common, I use Weseman bearings on all our production engines. As you can see in the photo, it is a straight bearing, not a thrust bearing. Weseman...
  19. W

    Debate about Mark Langford's 3rd crank failure

    I find it odd that in the last few days, this thread has picked up ten times as many reads as the one directly below it: https://www.homebuiltairplanes.com/forums/corvair/20999-planes-flying-corvair-power-2015-a.html where I posted 15 links to stories about flying Corvair powered planes on our...
  20. W

    Debate about Mark Langford's 3rd crank failure

    "One of the most knowledgable and friendly aviation discussion groups on the internet" That comment is in the title block of this forum, (with the misspelling), and I guess it is for each of us to decide how close it comes to our understanding of that statement, and then if we wish to...
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