Story and photos by Mark Langford Mark Langford started his career working on guided missiles while an active duty member of the USAF. Later he became an automobile mechanic, specializing in German autos. Using his GI bill, he earned a BS in mechanical engineering from Auburn University in 1988. Mark has been working as a design engineer in the aerospace industry for Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama ever since. He earned his private pilot certificate in 1993, and promptly started construction on a KR2S. Mark assisted Larry French and solid modeled the 450 horsepower Lionheart staggerwing design in the mid nineties, and published an article detailing the development of a new KR2S airfoil in Sport Aviation magazine in 2001. Mark is currently putting the finishing touches on his beautifully crafted and highly modified Corvair powered KR2S www.home.hiwaay.net\~langford, and assists other builders by running an internet mailing list for KR builders www.krnet.org, and another devoted to the use of Corvair engines in homebuilt aircraft www.corvaircraft.com. He enjoys complete support from his wife and young children, who can't wait to fly his KR2S.
Mark Langford, installing his engine on William Wynne’s test stand, during the 2003 Corvair College. One of the possibilities that William mentions in his manual is the 3100cc "Big Boy" conversion, which was being converted by Bob Sutcliffe of SC Performance, Ventura CA (805) 644-0006, as well as Ray Sedman at American Pi www.american-pi.com. Being a “motorhead” from way back, and former VW mechanic, the potential for more power with the same weight was very appealing. I found a web site that documents the basics of the conversion at www.corvairkid.com/MM01.htm, and I was confident that I could handle the job.
THERE’S NO SUBSTITITE FOR CUBIC INCHES The Big Boy is all about increased displacement. I'm not sure who was the first to try it, but it involves the use of forged 94mm Cima/Mahle pistons and cylinders in place of the stock Corvair's cast pistons and iron cylinders. The result is a 15% displacement increase, from 164CID to 190 cubic inches. At our low RPM range, this will translate almost directly to a 15% increase in power. This change requires modifications to the cylinders themselves, as well as boring the cylinder heads and engine case. The connecting rods are also converted from the
I've been building a KR2S for the last 10 years, and had been planning on using a Type 4 VW engine for power. But I've never been comfortable with the track record of the VW crankshafts when subjected to aircraft use and was designing a shaft drive setup so I could extract the power from the flywheel end of the engine, rather than the alternator/cooling fan pulley end. Then I heard William Wynne preaching the Corvair gospel at Sun ‘N Fun in 1998, and I saw the light! The Corvair had no history of crank problems in aircraft applications, and had the added benefit of 6 cylinders. Since William had already done the research on how to outfit the Corvair for aircraft use, it was a no-brainer that I would no longer have to experiment with a shaft drive setup of my own design!
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