Zenith Aircraft Builders and Flyers
Online Community of Zenith Builders and Flyers
engine choice
Still trying to decide engine type. Looking very seriously at Azalea corvair conversion. Just seems to be so hard to get a straight answer out of WW/ SPA as to final price on complete engine and firewall forward. Whereas azalea Bill Clapp seems to be so easy to talk to and straight forward about his prices. Does anyone else have more comments on Azalea/ WW engines?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Timothy D. McCall on
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I'll be removing my corvair and fwd from my 750, if you are interested.
Tim
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Located in Derby, Kansas. Asking $3900 for everything. I'm mounting a factory new engine, Rotax. Built this corvair engine myself (2700) with ww's books, videos, and some of his parts.
I like the corvair, had fun building and installing it.
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Permalink Reply by Bob Turner on
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I've got two CH701's. One has a Rotax 912UL at 81 hp and the other has a Viking 110 at 110 hp. There is no comparison with the two. The Rotax is lighter but runs rough at low rpm and you are always fiddling with the carb sync. The Viking is as smooth as glass and the only other aircraft I've ever flown with a smoother or quieter engine was a Lear.
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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Bird on
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I think either the WW or Azalea Corvairs have a respectable history (and I steer clear of the Corvair “debate”). I went with Bill because I found him easy to talk to, responsive and I specifically wanted the IFB setup of the Azalea Spyder. Mine is the standard 100hp with the Aero-Injector but hasn’t flown yet because the plane builder is significantly slower and far less focused than the engine builder. Overall very happy with the transaction...
As an FYI, mine came in at 228# wet, but without exhaust -- which I was happy with since I took no pains to save weight and am using the Chevy cylinders...
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Permalink Reply by Bob Pustell on
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My only suggestion would be to wait long enough to see if this company endures. His earlier ventures left quite a few people feeling shortchanged in various ways. Hopefully this time is the charm, just as the Subaru engine guy is now doing very well and having happy customers as the Viking Guy.
Conversely, WW is not known for being all charm and good looks but his company and his products have been around a long time and have many successful examples flying. If he has not been driven out of business in a quarter century he and his stuff cannot be all bad.
I personally prefer vendor longevity and a solid track record of durable products and am planning on going with Mr. Wynne but can see the charm offered by some of the other conversion vendors. We each need to make our own choice in the end, but you asked opinions so there is mine.
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Permalink Reply by David Muse on
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To Bob:
"Charm" and "Wynne" really don't go together! I personally think "brutally honest" and "trustworthy" are much better fits! The man is a born teacher and worthy of good students. He has helped me immensely in the completion of my engine. I have been a mechanic over 50 years, yet I still learned from William.
The Other Dave
P.S. my firewall forward, including mount, ran 232.5 LB. dry.
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Hope mine comes out close to yours weight wise -- my guess is my eventual FWF may be a tad higher, but I've had the mount on and off enough times now that I'm getting that part down pat... how do you run your oil cooler? Right now I'm planning to sling mine under the oil-pan between the frame legs, but nothing seems to work quite as well in the shop as it does in my imagination...
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Lawrence:
I used the baffle kit from SPA and the oil cooler is mounted behind the engine on the pilot side. I did not buy the SS intake from WW, but got the aluminum one from Azalea. Ditto the heads, which, for some reason turned out 2.75LB lighter than the spare ones I have from Wisconsin. I went to Bill for the Aero-Injector as well, which also wasn't included in the FWF weight.(I forgot) It probably weighs about a pound.
I should note that SPA and WW would rather you build your own, and become familiar with every part, just like your airframe. If I had only wanted to fly, I could have done that $12000 ago!
The Other Dave
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I started building my own (merrily recalling my youth rebuilding bike and Chevy engines), but not ever having been much beyond a shade-tree mechanic (and having a job at the time that demanded much out-of-country travel), I found I was mostly piddling – in stages as I admitted defeat, I shipped stuff off to Bill over a period of a year or so and in the end came home with a “store-bought” 100hp Azalea… Along with the IFB, mine has Bill’s rear-mount starter/alternator/oil-hose-sender-plate, so I’ve never thought seriously about adding additional stuff there as my firewall area already seems constricted… am thinking about running Langsford style plenums (but haven't got that far) and am hoping mine comes in under 240# with motormount – we’ll see…
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