VAF Forums

VAF Forums (https://vansairforce.net/community/index.php)
-   RV-14 (https://vansairforce.net/community/forumdisplay.php?f=109)
-   -   RV-14 bottom cowl misalignment with air filter frame cover (https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=149027)

Rocky005 04-30-2017 09:14 AM

Our repair for this issue.
 
Thanks for the feedback and questions, hopefully the following makes sense.
I agree its great kit and I'm not complaining.

Here's a photo showing our layout, it was as per the plans with the piece of aluminium angle fitted on top of the spinner with a washer to allow for future engine drop due to mounts settling.


And here is our new repair done this weekend, we built up the inner surface with flox and epoxy then sanded the fiberglass back on the inside.
Note the pink area is the original fiberglass height and the white area is the extra flox mix we added and shaped to match the original contour.


I am not sure if this reduction in the intake will affect the flow of air for the engine, any thoughts on this?

And finally here is a photo of the raised area with rubber inserted to check, looking good now.


The Vans plans call for using a flox and epoxy mixture to fix the sides so we used the same technique and mix to raise the cowl scoops, I believe using fiberglass is not good as the edges of the glass may show through the paint (but I've not seen this problem).

Tom Martin 04-30-2017 09:18 AM

The plans method of matching the lower inlet corners have you taking measurements and then using an aluminum strip clecoed to the bottom cowling the right distance away from the curves. The gaps are filled with flox and this will give you the curve you need to align the baffle seal. The excess original glass is then filed off.



I took a different approach and removed the lower outboard corner. A piece of waxed baffle seal material was clamped where I want the final piece to go. Then I did a glass/flox lay up over that to get the shape I wanted. The cowling will be removed and the inside of the layup will be sanded and then glassed over to make a good bond.



Personally I felt that this was a bit easier to do on this particular cowling then what the plans call for. The inside bottom corners are pretty good and I will do a modified version of Van's method for them.
The main reason that I used this approach is that I did not like the inlet shape. The outboard inlet is converging, meaning that it is pointing inward, which is not desirable on an inlet. I can now have the inlet pointing directly aft in line with the airflow. When I finally get the bottom corners the way I want them I will remove the upper corners and glass them to match the lower corners.
It sounds like a lot of work but really it is an hour a day for three or four days to get these inlets the shape I want that also puts the baffle seal in the correct position.


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:23 AM.