Hello from a wannabe builder

thanks @Rick.
Having now crawled around this forum I see others recommending the same.
Time to rethink my approach.
thx again.

I am flying a scratch built Pietenpol now with a Corvair with WW parts and Dan's front bearing and agree the Corvair is great (runs perfect after 200 hours and sounds much better than a 320 with the 6 cylinders) but for my Panther I am going with a mid time 320. The extra 60 HP will make a big difference at my field elevation. And I would think that the resale on a Panther with a 320 would be better than one with a Corvair.

Rick H

@Dan, Thanks so much for your response. Really helpful.
I came to read up on the Corvair through the flycorvair.com site. Having bought and read the build and maintenance manuals I feel I have the confidence that with the wealth of information from that site and the support of Wynne's Corvair College I should be able to do this (not least knowing I'd have all the needed components at hand through your engine-in-a-box offering).
I would jump at overhauling a Lycoming, and I would expect there to be a wealth of information and support out there. But can you point me at a good starting point?
Thanks again!
-charlie

[danweseman]

Hi Charlie
We do not recommend the smaller engines with the sport wing,the take off and climb will suffer especially in high and hot/ environments . To my knowledge all short wing Panthers flying have O-320s in them as We tend to want a higher "minimum level of performance" in take off and climb than some other Brand X kit companies offer. It could work but not recommended.
The Corvair is a great engine when built and operated correctly. I really love flying behind them. But as you mention ,the economics cannot be the driving factor. If you want to build your own engine you could overhaul/assemble a lycoming O-320. If you feel you have/or can learn the skills to convert/ assemble a Corvair, you can easily do a Lycoming !
Again I love my Corvairs, but they are not for everyone, and its really hard to beat a mid time or self overhauled Lycoming for performance and cost. This is why we designed the Panther around the O-320. We installed a Corvair in the Prototype as a afterthought to capitalize on the then popular LSA class.
Hope this helps some , and welcome to the forum

Hi All,
I'm in Walnut Creek, CA (Greater SF Bay Area). I recently learned about this aircraft and am very interested.
I have 0 experience with aircraft building, but I consider myself a pretty handy person (some wood and metal working skills).
I'm very intrigued by the idea of building my own engine (corvair), but I do wonder about the performance of corvair with the shorter sport wings.
Also given the listed price for the engine kits (engine-in-a-box) it can end up costing more than a mid-time O320 and have a lower resale value. As much as I love the idea of building the whole thing (engine included) the value proposition of corvair does make me reconsider.
I can really use some advice on that front.

In general I'm having a hard time finding performance numbers. Can someone with corvair/sport-wing share climb and cruise numbers?

On the plus side: I'm retired with a 2 car garage that has already been converted into a workshop. So I'm good to go on that front.

Looking forward to hearing more.

Thanks all!

PS: this site really should use https (too many reasons to list, not the least of which is just peace of mind for everyone). In my prior life this is an area of expertise, I'm happy to help with this if needed.