Right now I have three props that I could try on my Corvair. I started with
a grey Prince P-Tip prop 52x50 "thinned". I turn it 3350 static and 3800
full throttle. I runs smooth but fast. In a shallow dive it can go over 4000
- near redline so I am going to try another prop. Tommy Davenp
Ive helped WW out in the past and hope to do more here in the very near
future - like next week. I know that a lot of people would like to be able
to
get all the "small stuff" from WW directly but it is the fact that everyone
seems to make a different installation that makes it difficult t
Im still using my Prince 52 X 50 that I used during my test period. I plan
to put on a repitched 52 X 54 Prince and try it before sun n fun to see if I
like it. I need a bit more pitch to take advantage of the powerband I have.
I tend to cruise at somewhere @ 65% power doing 150 on cross c
Boy, with all these new videos out I feel left behind. I dont have very
much in the way of video or pics of my plane. Everybody says it sound like a
P51 - Ive never heard it! The Gathering video has music that covers most of
the sound up. Im hoping to get someone to come out to the airpor
Have there been any KRs fly from the US to Australia at all? Im planning
some trip to Central and South American within a year with a friend of mine
but have wondered about flying down south. I have some old school friends of
mine down there.
Bill
About in flight pics Mark - does a digital movie work well for taking one
frame for a photo? Maybe we could get Video Bob in a plane and take in flight
stuff and get some stills from that. Speaking of the gathering, maybe we
will have to convince William Wynne to fly the 601 to the gatherin
Steve - where did you get your embroidery work on your seats done and can I
"steal" the design from you - maybe modify it someI dont care if I get
Best Interior this next gathering or not by the wayjust as long as you
dont
get Best Engine (ha ha)...Sorry to hear about the crank probl
Ive hear that the reason a lot of people say the corvair sound like a P51 is
beacuse you are hearing 6 cyl firing and the Sound you hear from a P51 is
normally only six banks. The higher rpms we turn as well makes a difference.
But dont take my word for it as I havent been able to hear min
Well, I just got in from having a new adventure in the life of N41768. A
first for me as a pilot and for my plane. I just had my first passanger that
has ever THROWN UP!Talk about an experience that I wasnt quite prepared
for. One of my friends has a 15 year old daughter that was dyi
Hi Mark - Glad to see you out flying. You seem to have the same problem
with the elevator trim that I had...you almost dont need it. People thought I
was screwy when I mentioned that I did the first flight without ever touching
the trim - from takoff to touchdown. Only at full cruise do I
I believe that most of the early airstrips were round -Aerodromes I believe
they called them. If you are having major difficulty landing on a strip due
to sever crossswind - check and see if you can land on a crossing taxiway.
Some airports may also have short grass strip that can be used
Here I am - finally home for a few hours. Ill send out this note for all
the KRrs. Sun N Fun was great. I went down to William Wynnes a couple days
before so that I could test fly the Stitts Skycoupe with Corvair TURBO
conversion. Everything checked out okay so Gary (the owner) flew th
As some of you know, I have been working on a cowling for the Corvair
converted KRs. This new cowling will allow the use of William Wynne's front
starter kit and eliminate the need for any prop extention. I would encourage
anyone using the Corvair to use this cowling or build your own, or
I just arrived home after flying with Mark L. and spending a couple days
with his family due to bad weather. I left Huntsville with 15 gallons of
fuel
(90 lbs) and baggage (75 lbs) and my daughter (60 lbs) and we climbed out at
1500 '/min at 110mph. Once we got into a broken cloud area
If any of you are interested, I am putting myself on the market as a KR
inspector, test pilot and if necessary, dual instruction. As an A&P and
builder
I can help out with either some building part of your project or just a good
inspection and some pointers. Once your plane gets its air
Hi there Bob - I will be in New Richmond WI when I am up there at the end of
June and July - not far from you. Ill be at my folks house - 715-749-3812
or my cell 229-834-8996. Hope to see you and visit. Bill
Way to go Mark! Im glad you have your confidence back. Im glad I could
help. I feel much better about your flying skills now. It will be a pleasure
to fly together to the Gathering if you want. It sound like you finally had
some fun in YOUR airplane. Now we can all say
ALRIGHTY THEN... who is planning to fly their KR to Oshkosh this year? and
who is planning to just show up? I PLAN to be there the entire week with
N41769 and WW will be there with the Corvair 601, Dave with his Corvair Colt,
hopefully Mark Jones will fly in and Im egging my dad to fly his
Glad to hear your still having fun Mark. The YEEHAWS are coming faster now.
In your enthusiasm dont forget to do a couple good thorough inspections.
Have you tackled any of the discrepancies yet...pump, fuel level and such?
Make sure to keep your options and margins open for emergencies
For those interested in the corvair - stick with what is proven and works
well. Your will be happier in the long run to have an airplane in the air in
a
shorter amount of time with a LOT less money and hassle. Once you are
flying then build your 3100 or turbo or whatever and modify a teste
Take a tube of steel or aluminum and slit it lenthwise for a inch or so so
that it will fit tightly inside the pressure regulator sleeve. normally the
regulator will work free with a little bit of time and effort - if not - Ive
rebuild many with WW and he has them on hand with new pumps - p
Well, after a week of bad weather I finally got to go up and just fly around
for an hour or so. I got to try out a NEW Sensnich 54X54 prop. A beautiful
prop to say the least. Takeoff roll was shorter than normal and the climb
performance was real good. Static was 3100 and climb out was
Cruise numbers on the new prop are similar to those of the Prince 52X54 I
had but the takeoff and climb are better. Still more testing to go. Bill
Today was eventful. I flew with the new Sensnich prop out to a small grass
field south of Saint Augustine FL where Dan Weesman has his mone and hanger.
He is working on a 3100 Corvair powered "Cleanex" - a clean Sonex. This is
the first grass strip Ive been in with the KR. 2600 feet was
Hey Mark - just talking to Mark Jones and he informed me as to your
situation. First - well done on staying focused and flying the airplane - you
made
the right descision in landing at the field you could make! good job on the
deadstick. Nice to hear that you are okay. It will be inter
The only real test on glide ratios that I have done brings me to conclude
that my plane at 90 mph best glide (assumed) gives me about 2.5 miles for every
1000 feet of altitude lost. Im not sure of the actual ratio but I try to
fly a minimum of 5000 AGL when possible - usually higher - on lo
I am currently testing a marine fuel flow computer. So far it works well on
my gravity feed system. It flowed 15 g/hr with the fuel line disconnected
at the carb. Takeoff in the Corvair gives me 7.1 g/hr and cruise t 165mph
about 5.5 - real close to what I was expecting. The nice thing
If anybody is interested in a prop, I have two for sale at this time.
Bother are drilled for VW or SAE1 pattern and have been test flown. They are
#1 a
Prince P-tip (gery style) 52X50 for $400.00 and #2 a Prince P-tip (grey)
with a 52 X 54 with composite spinner for $550.00. They both
Where are you located? I have a couple KR projects we are working on here
in Valdosta Ga. If interested in seeing talking let me know. Bill Clapp
The fuel flow computer that I am try is a NAVMAN 2100 unit for marine use.
It can be found with a web search - seems to work well but I will update with
more info as I test.
Bill and 41878 - past 180 hrs and going
The 52 X 54 Prince just came out of refinishing from Prince Co. It the grey
wood/composite prop with the swept tips. The tips are also called
antivortex tips which quieten the prop and make it more efficient. It works
very well
on my Corvair but also has VW hole pattern. Static with th
I agree that the KR net should be mainly about KRs but I also see us as a
community of flying and building FRIENDS! If somebody is stuck on a
particular
problem or wants to share something with his friends I see no problem. A
lot of us share our flying experiences and daily struggles with
Good Job Joe! - Hope to fly with you soon. Its almost as good as a new
birth. This is the time where the husband carries the picturesBe
cautious
and smart in your preflight and test flying phase. Hope all goes smoothly.
Bill
Hope many days to Oshkosh? I plan to be there the entire week. I will be
helping William Wynne out but may be at the flightline more than anything with
the other KRs. If you need to get a hold of me there I will also be helping
at the ZENAIR booth and possibly inside one of the hangers whe
I am hoping to be at your place for the fly in if possible. I really am
hoping to get to Braodhead the friday and saturday before and maybe hit the
dance party in Waunakee Sat night - big band WWII dance stuff - fun - and then
do
a fly in from your place . I will call you as time approache
Hello to Kr-landia! It has been a very busy two months with 41768. A
little update on what Ive been doing.
Elaine (9yr daughter) and I left Valdosta GA and flew to Tulsa OK on
July 3rd to visit with my sister. Did that 840 mile leg in 5.1 hours on 26
gallons of fuel. I had a little
Just so you know, I built my KR the old fashion way - hand laid just like
the plans said and I am lighter that Mark L.s KR. I know for a fact that
with
molds and prepreg stuff I could save a couple pounds here and there but
there is a lot of complexity involved in doing all that and I didn
Fuel seems a little high but it is still cheaper to fly the KR than drive my
61 VW to the Gathering - plus less time, less snacks, less potty
breaks..more fun!
8 days and counting.
Well, my bird just turned 1! I just completed the first annual inspection
of 41768. It has faired well for all the distance flown and places gone. 275
hours on the hobbs right now and Lord willing, many more to come. We have
been to many states and visited many people, and covered thousa
Sorry about the empty letter - here goes...
Well, another successful gathering ! I flew 41768 up on Thursday with a
friend on mine (Jerry Howard a KR2 builder) and we arrived at 6:00 pm or so in
Mt. Vernon. Elaine couldnt go because of school so Jerry got a ride with me.
A very uneventf
Steve - dont worry about getting a WEB site up and running - YOU have and
AIRPLANE to BUILD and FLY! Do the web thing later and show where you are
going and have been. I still havent done one but have 290 hours on 41768 this
year! Having FUN! I hope to visit soon - Bill
I have a simple kit that can be added to a KR - Look at my pics in the
Gathering 04 and 05 photos and you can see the setup . The kit sells for 150
and
inlcudes board, handle and torque tube assy. You just supply the hinge and
the pushrod of your choice. It is very adaptable to different
For those interested in the SUB installations two names come to mind. Steve
Makish and Bob Lester are the only two that I know who have SUCCESSFULLY
flewn many hours behind Subaru engines in a KR2. They know all the problems
and
had all the bugs worked out. Since then they have removed t
As far a HP and torque on the Corvair engine check out the info from the
dyno tests that WW performed at FLYCORVAIR.com. Here is actual HP performance
figures on an engine (0-200) as it came off the airplane and the Corvair 110
as it came off the airplane. These are HP and torque at the pr
Want to know if there is anybody interested in building up a couple sets of
KR2S spars for me. Preferably somebody who has done them before and still
has their table. I am currently looking into building complete outboard wing
sections on a jig but need some spars. I dont have the plans or
Elaine and I just got back from the Thomasville Fly-In - Its just down the
road from here. Only a 15 min flight (okay more like 13). Got there about
9:30 am and talked to a few people. Showed off the Corvair engine conversion
and met a few Peitenpol and Kr guys. Chuck (Dragonfly-corvair)
Heres to Steve and all we learned from him. He will be missed especially
among the KR community. Flying like all of life can be dangerous and he
willingly accepted those risks. We need to remember that and always strive to
lessen those risks where possible.
For those who dont know -
Congratulations Joe on a well deserved First flight! All the work is worth
it. Life worth living is best lived to the fullest and I think the KR people
are a part of that. May you have countless hours of safe and fun flying to
come. Hope to see you again soon. Bill
Has anybody heard from Video Bob on pics? Also - has anybody seen any pics
from the Gathering 05 other than Glends's? Am looking forward to some. Bill
Once you know the empty weight and CG on your airplane - then you can figure
the extreme limit and then stay within it. I know that I can carry full
fuel and 200 lb passenger and be within my CG if I have no more than 25 lbs of
baggage in the back. (as since tested to be true) If I have ove
Landing a tri gear at minimun speed is not an issue. Landing a low
taildragger is a problem at minimum speed because the tail wheel will impact
the
runway before the mains and set up a miserable bounce. Therefore a little
more
speed is required on some taildraggers - such as mine- for a s
Look at SUMMIT Racing.com or their catalog - they have some nice tanks that
may work for you.
All Maloof prop were red tagged (put out of service) because they were
throwing blades. I had one on my kr2 but had to remove it and put on a wood
prop.
I highly recommend you do the same. The hub is a good design - maybe
someone will make better blades.Bill
And not in that orderFirst - Corvair college was a blast. I had a lot
of fun meeting friends and new builders. 99% came with good attitudes and a
willingness to learn and help each other and that is always encouraging. To
those who are of the 1% - please learn to be less selfish. W
Congrats on nearing the 100 hour mark Mark! Its a lot of fun isnt it -
worth all that work and more. I just passed 300 on mine - new engine is going
together for it now.more about that later. I hope to get a transponder
finally so I can travel places (ha ha). So glad you made it tot
I have the simplist primer system of all...NONE. With the aerocarb on the
corvair I just turn on the fuel - mixture rich - count to five and turn the
prop over. When the engine is cold it will sometime take a couple extra
revolutions to start - I call it "pre-oiling" which is good for the
Having flown various aricraft as student and as CFI I will have to agree
with Colin that you learn the leaning procedures for YOUR engine well. It can
make a huge difference in performance in a low margin situation. A Cessna 185
on a jungle strip that can take off at gross and only use 120
Been gone t long... Merry Christmas / happy New year to all - It has
been a long few weeks away from the net and talking to friends. Had Christmas
with my folks in Wisconsin and had to attend my grandfather's funeral - he
passed away the day after Christmas - out in South Dakota - flat
Im going to plug a movie for yall at this time - not necessarily KR news but
interesting aviation news.
As many of you know I grew up in the jungles of South America in a town
called Shell Mera in Ecuador. (named after the Shell oil company). In 1965
five missionaries were killed by th
Yes - the bucket drop is true - How Nate figured out to do it was while he
was in flight school. He was daydreaming during class and was dangling a
pencil on the end of a string. As he turned his hand in a circle the pencil
would
tunr around underneath. He found that at a certain length o
Are there any good sources for new wing attach fittings for the 2 or 2S? I
may need a pair. Also am looking for someone to make me some tall outboard
spars (new airfoil) for a 2S. If someone has already made a set and still has
the table and plans set up it would be nice. Thanks. Bill
Yell! I need just the outboard sets. I have a KR2 with the fiitings on the
center spars but no wings for it. I have spars but no fittings. It has the
RAF airfoil.
I also need a set for the outboard wings of a 2S. (im not sure if they
are any different)
So total is two sets of outboa
Hey Brian - where are you staying? Ive got my plane parked at the airport
at HILO international and will be flying up to the big island in a day or
two. Its been a long trip. The new wings with extended tanks worked great
but
the butt gets real sore after all those hours over water. I
Has anybody heard about the CD from Video Bob? Is there one available yet?
Some bloke was real impressed when I told him that I spoke English, British,
Mexican, Honduran, Ecuadorian, Colombian, Guatemalan, Spanish, and a little
of Brazillian and Potugeuze. I also know a litlle Hivaro, Waudani and Shuar
(just a few words really). I know that these translators don
If Eduardo needs a little help with translation I will try to help - let me
know...Bill or Guillermo.
Mark - Georgia born and bread ? -maybe a little too much of the bread
Ha Ha.! How the paint looking? Im reworking my wheel pants to make them
look better and ease the removal of the gear and change of wheel. I seem to
go through a set of tires ever 100 hours or so. They are the
I dont do chickens or june bugsbut I would let the paint cure for about
one week - then you can put graphics on. Usually you can color sand after a
day or two. Remember to lay the graphics on in one try - otherwise trying to
pull it off can sometimes pull the paint. I just tape and spr
Be careful when you convert on your measurements fellows - Remember that
even Nasa screwed up the Mars probe because of bad conversions. Just stick to
the system your used to. We Americans like the standard version of
measurements because it is our form of rebellion against "civil" societi
Fight hours - I had about 450 in many different kinds of airplanes. 80
hours taildragger Cessna 185 time. Flying my dad's KR2 -Revmaster 2180 turbo-
was no problem - only noticed real sensitivity when at gross weight. This
tendancy is much better in N41768 - the KR2S. I feel that flying
On the crank issue I dont believe that William makes any money on the ion
nitriding at all. If you want to know why the cost difference you should
speak
to Mark Langford and find out what he had sont and then to William Wynne and
ask him directly. Believe me that there is little profit tha
I know that my airspeed indicator has been way off for quite a while . I
have over 300 hours on the plane and this is what my AI shows. I was pretty
sure it was offf when I first did stalls and slow flight and it was pegged on
the low end at 40 and I was still in slow flight and not near a
Right now I am reducing drag on my plane by working on pants. 1. The wheel
pants on the airplane will be cleaner and more streamline. 2. My pant size
is on the way down due to long needed excersize and dieting. I hope to be
down to 165 or 170 by the Gathering. I lost 8 lbs on me in the l
The Corvair is much heavier by far because of the weight of the money left
in your wallet. The cost of a Jab is around 14,000 - 16,000 and very little
in the way of installation support from what Ive heard. I have around 2500
now tied up in my Corvair - but that is low in comparisson to the
If you are going to get rid of the KR2 spars - let me know - I am looking
for a pair!
Bill Clapp
Valdosta GA
Having my wing tanks made from pvc and having drains in the bottom end at
the root leaves very little room for water to enter hide. I believe I can get
any wing tank water out through them. The main tant is tapered so that the
outlet is at the bottom even when on the ramp. My only dissadva
If you are building a KR2S you may not want a real light engine. My 2S is
built per plans with a Corvair and I did not have to put ballast anywhere and
I could not be happier with the CG and stability. I chose the Corvair mostly
for cost (Remember I only have about 2500 in the engine and 35
As far as payload in the 2S - I have a stock 2S with Corvair - empty weight
is 710 lbs. I listed the gross at 1200 lbs. One flight I did - departure
weight was @1400 and I was close to the aft CG. I had 6500 feet of runway
so I could test this weight. Takeoff was smooth and normal - m
Not so much of a big deal - just trying to help a guy out which is what the
net is all about. I can understand the confusion. I came from flying a KR2
with a turbo Revemaster 2180D that my father built to building the 2S I have
now. Nothing wrong with the VW engine - other than they broke
WW is working real hard right now trying to catch up on orders plus getting
the fifth bearing and crank issues dealt with. I am waiting for a KR mount
as well and believe me - after seeing some of other people's work and some of
the mounts that William and I have had to cut apart and remake
Please dont take this wrong or anything. I am just letting you know how
things work at times. WW does not run a large warehouse with stocked up items
though he wants to get to that point in the near future. All I am saying is
that he works things in batches and groups. For example, he wil
So Joe - does it fly as sweet as Mine! - Im sure it does - great fun -!
Bill
If anyone is interested I may be coming up with an easier way to make the
wings yourself. It may cost the same or slightly more than a regular wing but
take less time to make. More info down the road. Flew around for an hour
todayHave to reinstall my gascolator blast tube...Having fun.
Ive been flying with this fuel flow gauge for the last 150 hours. It works
very well and was easy to install. I dont use the fuel totalizer much but
will in the future. It work well for long trips. I average @ 4.8 gph at 160
mphat 8500'.But that changes sometimes acording to cond
Well, if all goes as planned I will be at Sun n Fun for the entire week..
Like last year I will be sponsering the KR and Corvair crowd. I will be
helping out William Wynne and the Corvair gang and ALso be promoting KRs.
According to William there should be around 8 to 12 corvair powered
Which date exactly - maybe I can make it - I have a lot of prep before Sun N
Fun but Ill seeBill
My regards and condolences BobbyIt is good to hear that you were able to
enjoy your Dad so much - we appreciate all you and he have done for the KR
people. He will be remembered by all and your family will be in our prayers
at this timeBill and the Kr family
A note about props- I just recently converted my Corvair over to the
nitrided crcnkshaft that William Wynne recommends and also put stainless valves
in
my engine (prep for turbo). One recent change that I want to tell you about
is my prop. I have had issues with my 52X54 Prince p-tip la
William Wynne from Flycorvair can get you one for a reasonable price.
Better than what Sensnich will sell direct386-478-0396 is his number...tell
him your application and he will order for you. Allow about three to four
weeks for delivery..Bill
Just a little note - Im not sure you necessarily need to reduce the stall
speed on a KR at all - What would be the reason? Is it not safe ienough where
it is? I find it very difficult to bring the Kr anywhere close to stall
throughout all flying manuevers.
Bill and 41768
Just a little note from the corvair guystake a look at the update at
Flycorvair.com.You will see photos of the newest corvair airplane to fly -
a Zenith 601 that belongs to Phil Maxson from New Jersey. William did the
engine install and I did the polish and paint - Gus did design d
How many Kr guys expect to fly their KRs to Sun N Fun?
1. Me (Bill Clapp)..corvair
2. Steve Makish...corvair
3. Mark Langfordcorvair
4. Joe Hortoncorvair
5. Porgapolis PigVW
So how many morelet us knowmake a fling of it..
Bill and 41768
Hi Mark - nice to hear that you are in the air again. I too replaced the
crank in my engine and as did you found the process quite simple and not to
costly. My crank (non - nitrided ) that was removed did not have a crack but
it did have a #6 rod journal that was going bad. So although t
Im giving a little update on the information I have now concerning the prop
change I made recently. I wrote on a previous email that I removed my Prince
p-tip 52X54 due to vibrations and replaced it with a loaner from William
Wynne. The Sensich I currently have on is a 54X52 and runs very
I hope to be there for diner - whats on the menu?
Bill Clapp
Guys - if you get a chance - look at the new FLYCORVAIR.com update and click
on the photo of the 601. You will download a great little clip of a new
flying corvair -- ENJOY!
See you at Sun n Fun!
Bill and N41768
Glad you made it home safe - It was nice to see you there. See you at
Oshkosh? Bill Clapp
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