NetHeads, Somebody asked about a weight comparison between VWs and Corvairs the other day, and I never saw a reply. I've never personally weighed a Type 1 VW engine "full up" for aircraft use like I have my corvair, but my impression is that you'd have about 200 pounds with a VW in the same configuration as I've weighed my Corvair. My Corvair, complete with everything it takes to start and run except for the prop, fuel in the lines, and electrons in the wires, was right at 240 pounds. Some heroic efforts can make it even lighter. I believe there's about a 40 pound difference between the two, BUT, you get so much more power out of a Corvair that the weight and fuel weight are more than offset, and then there's the speed increase and improved reliability of having 6 cylinders. See http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/corvair/ for lots more details on the Corvair.
I'm headed back to Germany on business this afternoon, but first I need to go fly around some more. I did 1.6 hours yesterday, just crusing around "the neighborhood". Did about 12 landings at 4 different airports, one being Moontown's 2200' grass strip. It's still running great, with a total of 128.1 hours at the moment. You guys don't know what you're missing! On the way back from Germany I need to stop by in England to visit a UAV engine manufacturer, and it happens to be an hour from Richard Mole's house. Old timer KRnetters and Area51 folks will remember him as the guy who suggested the 18% thick version AS5048 airfoil during development, so you could haul more fuel and have stronger spars with minimal weight increase. He still flys his Jodel "G-TREK" all over the UK and Europe, and is now working on a single seater that he'll tell me more about when I visit him next weekend. There's more on my last visit with Richard and a flight in his KR-like plane at http://home.hiwaay.net/~langford/trips.html . I called him this morning and he said he'd been keeping up with my progress, and seems happy to hear from me. I'll have a Bass Ale for ya... Mark Langford, Harvest, AL see homebuilt airplane at http://www.N56ML.com email to N56ML "at" hiwaay.net
