Dan Heath wrote: > Now, I am really having to give more thought to adding another 80+ pounds > for the > Corvair engine that Roy is building for me?????
Dan, first off, I think it's probably only about 60 pounds rather than 80, because the Corvair with everything firewall forwarded needed to fly (except the mount and prop) is only about 245-250 pounds. It'd be interesting to hear that number for your VW when you remove it. But if you get 50% more power in an airplane by only adding 10% more weight, I don't see how you could go wrong, other than fuel a slight increase in consumption (given the same speed). Maybe I have no credibility saying this, as I've never owned a lightweight KR with a VW engine in it, but I think having all that power of a Corvair out front makes the KR a LOT of fun! The extra power you get, as well as the safety of 6 cylinders, makes up for a lot of sins in the weight department. To me the engine weight isn't a factor when talking about fun-weight-ratio of having lots more power, whether it's from a Corvair or something else. That's one of the few things I disagree with in that article. My guess is that Neil never flew behind a Corvair either. Having said that, Roy Marsh could do 191 mph on a turbo VW. I'd have to dig up that article to see what his empty weight was... Mark Langford N56ML "at" hiwaay.net website at http://www.N56ML.com --------------------------------------------------------
