Aerolite Products LLC.
Innovations in the Corvair Conversion
June 26th
June 26th
"Here are some pics and video with the new Aerolite Rear Starter System on Ben's 601Xl. Ben allowed us to use his plane as the flight test bed. Thank you, Ben. Great looking plane!"
We loaded up the truck and set out for Englewood, Florida, where we swapped in the new Aerolite Corvair engine with its Rear Starter System. Here is its first start. The engine on Ben's plane was slated for additional upgrades including a Rear Starter System so we took advantage of the situation to do a new engine and our new Rear Starter System checkout on the flight from Englewood to Louisville, KY. Ben's original engine was disassembled after being trucked to Louisville to be 'miked' and receive a fresh set of pistons and cylinders. In this way we can be certain of the engine's condition and observe any future changes that might be attributable to the addition of our new products..
This video is of the Tie down 2 minute static test run before we take the plane for its first flight with the new engine.
"With that out of the way, Scott takes the plane for a test flight and it performed so well that he made the call to ..... well, just watch the video....."
The first stop on the way back to Ky was at Bill Clapp's place to give everything a once over before continuing on. We found the front seal to have a small leak due to pitting on the steel. We didn't use any oil to speak of and it was just annoying at best so we decided to push on. The next video is of Bill clapp and Scott going for a short flight.
"The new Rear Starter system incorporates the starter mounting bracket into the oil filter bracket, making the starter-to-ring gear clearance a 'non-adjustment."
"Our test pilot, Scott McGuire , had never flown behind a Corvair engine and became so enthused he even forgot to lean the mixture after startup. As you can tell just by listening, the perfect mating of the new starter and rear mounted ring gear makes starting the engine quieter than most cars."
This video is of the Tie down 2 minute static test run before we take the plane for its first flight with the new engine.
"With that out of the way, Scott takes the plane for a test flight and it performed so well that he made the call to ..... well, just watch the video....."
The first stop on the way back to Ky was at Bill Clapp's place to give everything a once over before continuing on. We found the front seal to have a small leak due to pitting on the steel. We didn't use any oil to speak of and it was just annoying at best so we decided to push on. The next video is of Bill clapp and Scott going for a short flight.
"Here is a video of Scott and I taking off.....Bill was set to take some air-to-air shots of the 601, but early into the flight we saw the oil temps rising during climbout and I decided to end the flight and return to the airport. The plane had been re-fueled and was at gross, and Scott and Bill had just returned from their flight. OAT was hovering around 95 degrees so I exercised caution and the flight was terminated. Although the engine wasn't losing power and the temps never exceeded 260 degrees, with the plane at full gross and climbing slowly, it made good sense not to overload a new engine with only a few hours on it."
"The test of both the new engine and its Rear Starter System was a complete success with no vibration detected, improved air flow reaching the 1-3-5 cylinders, no oil leakage in the new oil filter/oil cooler areas, quieter starting, and smooth engine performance. A weight savings of approximately 8 pounds was achieved and movement of the starter system to the rear of the engine compartment results in an improved center of gravity. Not to be overlooked is the exceptionally clean, professional appearance of the setup, improved efficiency, and the reduction of oil lines under the cowling."
"Aerolite will be conducting further testing on a KR2 in the very near future."
