Hey Rotary guys, hi Paul,

Another surveying thread here.. sorry about all the questions lol

How many W8... not particularly W10... Tailwinds have been converted
to rotary successfully? I've seen a couple online at least but
there's not much more info as far as I'm able to dig.


A while ago, when I was a newly minted taildragger pilot, I
purchased an old W8 and it's been sitting around not flying as much
as it could be. I'm planning on converting it to a mazda once I get
more info. I have a lycoming in it now and I have no idea what to do
with the mounts...anything FWF at all.

I'm heading to university this fall and I'm in no hurry to start the
project but it would be nice to start the planning so I can yank the
piston and sell it--I won't be flying much in school. It would be
nice to work on it on the weekends eventually.

Kim Kilk

Over the years we have had a lot of interest in Tail Wind I don't
recall anyone flying one yet.

Unless you can tig weld I highly recommend our universal motor mount.
See the attached pdf.

Don't believe everything those knee jerk liberal professors tell you
:-) They are in the commie  propaganda business :-) None of them
have ever worked for a living  at a real job.

Paul Lamar



Okay, cool, thanks for the pics, it doesn't look too bad to do at
all. I don't have the best tig welding skills around so I'll go with
the universal mount. It looks very well designed! Maybe some
tailwind guys will chime in eventually... or not.

I think I saw a site selling custom made cowlings for rotary
installations, I guess I could get them to make me one to avoid
doing all of that composite work myself. If not or if they charge too
much, then oh well. I'll do it myself.


By the way, haha.. don't worry..I'll take those "commies" with a
grain or two of salt. I'm just going for that sheepskin at the end
of the 4 years... and to have an excuse to play with all their
equipment (not that they'll probably let me... they won't). That's
why I took gap years! I did it to gain and re-enforce the solid
footing of what I stand for as a person and an engineer... I'm not
all soft and malleable like the fresh out of high school kids. :-)

Kim Klik

The rotary is real small. If the Intake system is designed right it
will probably fit the stock cowling.

One of the main Tail Wind guys may be dead. Haven't heard from him
in years. He ran a Tail Wind news letter.  In twenty years a lot
happens. He did all our motor mounts. He built this adjustable mm
welding jig. When he retired I invented the universal mount to
compensate and eliminate the need for this elaborate jig. He also
static tested the motor plate idea.

I have lost 3 very good friends. In some cases younger than me.

Obama nearly killed home built experimental aircraft because of the
crappy economy. Fortunately it is picking up again already under
Trump.

Paul Lamar


I have my own objections to the education system starting with the
"no failure retard thinking"! A friend once said when a farmer goes
to cut hay, he does not pick through the swath to get the sticks out.
When he goes to feed the cows he does not pick through the bale to
get the sticks out. He trusts the cows to eat the hay and spit the
sticks out. When it comes to university you need to spit the "commie
crap" out and just do what you need to to get the paper for the
office wall.

Dale Davies

Rhino 3D looks awesome.. I want to learn it. Those 3Ds give me good
hope that I'll have no problem sticking a rotary in the cowl.. easy
peasy. Thanks for sharing!

Hey by the way, Dale Davies, I like what you wrote about the cows and
sticks. It was very well put. :-) I'll remember that when suffering
through those gen eds especially.

Kim Klik


I know I'm a bit late in commenting to this thread but you should know
that Solid Works is free to EAA members:

http://www.eaa.org/en/eaa/eaa-membership/eaa-member-benefits/solidworks-resource-center

 Mark LaPierre

I did not know that. That is amazing. They usually rent it to you for a $1000 a year.

However it has a non intuitive user interface with a very steep learning curve.

I have a college teacher friend that teaches solid works and rhino. He tells me the
Rhino students start having fun in 10 minutes :-)

On top of that Rhino does a better job on compound surfaces.

Paul Lamar

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