Insulation Question - RV-10 Quick Build

[Dustyone]

No Foam please.

I'm working on a RV14A that is only 147 hrs old and the builder used foam extensively through the belly and firewall of the aircraft. The aircraft had a landing incident and the repair requires the removal of all the belly skins.

There is corrosion everywhere next to and under all the seems of the belly.
The aircraft was not alodined or primed during construction.

It is very fortunate this aircraft had a landing incident as I would not like to see this aircraft in 5 years if it was left as is.

We put all the removed foam in a pile and it burns just as described by Dan's photo in post #3 with thick black smoke!

I'll be doing a write up soon but here are two photos from the repair so far.

Rear belly skin


attaching ribs

[Kyle Boatright]

Originally Posted by Dustyone

There is corrosion everywhere next to and under all the seems of the belly.

Why would the foam have caused corrosion between the ribs and belly? That doesn't make sense to me.

[Dustyone]

Hi Kyle,
I had thought that it trapped in moisture/humidity in between the foam. The foam is a closed cell so it does not hold moisture but it also did not allow it to breath if moisture got in.
Other parts of this non primed aircraft have very minimal corrosion but everywhere the foam is covering structure, there is corrosion.
There is no corrosion underneath the foam where it has been glued down, only on the joins.

Just reporting what I have observed so far.

[MElstien]

Hello,

I am not adding sound insulation. I feel my money will be better spent, and lighter, on good headsets.

I did add a fireproof belly shield, and I will be adding Dan's recommended firewall shield. It is far better to keep the heat and fire out in the first place than trying to control it once it is inside.

I did take all the floorboards out and gear towers. Yes it was a major pain, but I needed to for inspection of the QB kit that was a "barn find". I wanted to make sure there was no corrosion due to little critters nesting in there.

If you want a write-up of how I did the belly shield, look at my website or send me an email and we can talk. I do think it will provide some sound insulation, but I was really only concerned with fire.

[lr172]

Originally Posted by Dustyone

Hi Kyle,
I had thought that it trapped in moisture/humidity in between the foam. The foam is a closed cell so it does not hold moisture but it also did not allow it to breath if moisture got in.
Other parts of this non primed aircraft have very minimal corrosion but everywhere the foam is covering structure, there is corrosion.
There is no corrosion underneath the foam where it has been glued down, only on the joins.

Just reporting what I have observed so far.

Very similar to what I saw on a couple of uninstalled sheets on my 6 kit (15 years old). The PO left the blue plastic on the sheets and there was corrosion where the plastic lifted slightly at the edges and corners, allowing moisture to fester instead of evaporate. Sheets without plastic, stored in the same place for the same time, had no corrosion. Also no corrosion where blue sheet was firmly stuck to al. You want to create environments that allow moisture to easily evaporate. Lay a moist but not wet rag on a sheet of steel. Then pour some water directly on another part of the steel. Next day, lift the rag and notice the difference. Same concept here, except dealing with water vapor vs liquid. Every hot to cold cycle can create condensation and air flow rapidly speeds the evaporation of that liquid. Lack of air circulation allows the water to stay for a long time.

Larry

[bomber_JB]

Thank you!, Thank you!, Thank you!

Based on the responses I will not be installing the SoundEx product and I'm only going to consider thermal insulation forward of the firewall. I'll contact contributors to this post individually as I like some of the ideas for "lay in" products that don't require removing factory installed panels.

You folks have saved me a lot of money, effort, and possibly headaches later.

Jerry

[rongawer]

Aside from the corrosion and fire issues, a good ANR headset will overcome the ambient noise and RV makes, so, as you said, avoid the whole deal and save a lot.