Oliver wrote: >>This is my first post to the group. I recently acquired the fuselage for a >>KR-1. I plan to build it as a KR-1B. I've purchased an 85 hp Corvair >>engine. Now I'm wondering if I'd be better off with a lighter VW 2700. >>Any thoughts or suggestions?<<
If you meant "80 hp" Corvair engine, it was the earliest engine and is not recommended, because it's a short stroke, small bore version of the later engines, so you have the same or more weight as the later more powerful engines. I believe they also incorporate a "feature" known affectionately as "spaghetti rods", which are also not recommended. That's not to say that a later crank and rods, along with lighter castings from the later engines can't be added, but it'd be easier to start with the proper engine. If you meant "95 hp" Corvair, you've probably got the right engine. Details on which engine to buy are included in William Wynne's manual, which can be purchased from http://www.flycorvair.com/manual.html , along with a lot of other vital information regarding conversion. But given that your KR-1 is already built, keeping the CG in the forward end of the range with the Corvair is more difficult than it would be with the lighter VW. One of the fastest KRs I've seen had a 2400cc VW in it, so the VW is quite capable of impressive performance. If I were building a KR1 (or any KR, really), I'd add some length to the aft end of the fuselage and hang a Corvair on it myself, but then I'm just that way... Mark Langford ML at N56ML.com website at http://www.N56ML.com --------------------------------------------------------
