Great post. I would like to ask specifically the differences in what you consider "good" VW conversions vs less good. I truly have no idea and someday will need to know. Also, i have looked at a number of "temporary rides" to fly while buildinga KR and are usually VW power. I wonder what to look for in older conversions? As to Hoover's blog, I stumbled recently onto some info about oiling, which I downloaded and saved for future reference. Internal mods to distribute more oil where it is needed. I wonder if some or all modern conversions incorporate such oiling mods, and how far back those changes go (for when I consider a VW powered aircraft from the 70's or 80's. I also will look for that contact mag article to add to my organized KR info library.
> To: krnet at list.krnet.org > Date: Fri, 3 Jul 2015 12:47:32 -0700 > Subject: KR> Aerovee, Chino, etc. > From: krnet at list.krnet.org > CC: laser147 at juno.com > > > "(Aerovee Turbo). The aircraft he was in was a test bed for this > engine as I understand it." > > It's doubtful it was the engine that killed Monnett. It's hard to > imagine how a power loss, even a catastrophic one, on takeoff could > cause what happened to them. Having said that, I would opine that the > Aerovee is very much a second-tier VW conversion. It's a buggyshop grade > motor with pretty red paint, kind of like lipstick on a pig. Great > Plains and Revmaster are the only two VW-based engines (having owned > both) worth considering and after seeing the recent pictures of that > R-2300 head posted on this forum I would sure stick to their time-tested > 2100D if choosing Revmaster. > > Unless you're racing and enjoy rebuilding the engine frequently, it would > be wise to leave turbos alone when it comes to VW's. They are long-lived > and reliable engines if you run them without asking them to run at full > capacity for extended periods. Heat extraction is the major issue and > always has been. Steve Bennett's friend Bob Hoover had much to say of > value re the VW - I hope "Bob Hoover's Blog" is still out there on the > web somewhere. He's a great resource for anyone interested in using the > VW engine for aircraft use. > > Pat Panzera did an excellent extended overview of the currently available > VW engine conversions in Contact Magazine about two years ago. > > ********** >