Well - lots of guys & gals have gone down behind Continentals and Lycomings and didn't make it either - same thing for Rotecs and almost any other engine you want to name.
Just this week we had a guy land his Cessna 150 on a golf course in Dallas after his engine quit. Guy must be a bad golfer too cause he ended up in a sand trap. OK sorry - bad humor.
The corvair certainly has had it's problems - but if you follow the history closely, most of the problems have centered around crankshaft issues.
Now with the addition of nitrided cranks and a fifth bearing added to handle gyroscopic propeller loads, this engine is certainly worth consideration.
I'll say this, any time a serious issue has arisen with the Corvair engine, there is a very active group of owners, engineers and builders that have actively addressed the issues head on, and kept the public well informed of their progress and changes.
Not so with Lycoming and Continental. How open have they been with their own crankshaft issues. Just ask Malibu owners if you have any doubts. Here's an AD for you fella - and oh - by the way - it's gonna cost you 30 thousand buck to fix your engine.
I for one applaud the efforts that have been made to make the corvair engine, and vw engines too for that matter, safe to put in an airplane.
As soon as I sell my current airplane I'll be starting in on a Kitfox - and a corvair engine will certainly be high on my list for consideration.
Regards
Rodney Wren