Front baffle rubbers, need help

[PIN 37]

I have been fitting baffle rubbers on my engine but have run into trouble around the front. I dont see how to seal between the baffle and the inlet ducts. I seem to be left with a big gap where the inside of the duct finishes. Should the inlet ducts run all the way to the centre of the cowl?? That is the only way I can see you can get a seal. What am I missing here?

[David-aviator]

Originally Posted by PIN 37

I have been fitting baffle rubbers on my engine but have run into trouble around the front. I dont see how to seal between the baffle and the inlet ducts. I seem to be left with a big gap where the inside of the duct finishes. Should the inlet ducts run all the way to the centre of the cowl?? That is the only way I can see you can get a seal. What am I missing here?

Phil,
The cowl is sealed at the engine inlet ramp with baffle material attached to the inside cowl opening and extends inward on top of the ramp when the cowl is installed. The gap you have now is so the rubber can be flexed upward as the cowl is attached. If you have no gap it won't work, the cowl comes up from the bottom and there has to be a gap to get the rubber in position on top of the ramp.

If there is another RV to look at, it will all make sense.

[PIN 37]

Thanks for the reply, but I am concerned about how the transition from the side to the back of the front baffle rubber is done( that is the baffle behind the flywheel) . I dont have any problem at the opening of the cowl.

[crabandy]

One way to do it, pics on my last page show how I did mine.

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...light=baffling

[PIN 37]

Thanks for that nfo, but the picture of the inside of the top cowl is not very clear, is there anybody that might have pictures of the inside of the top cowl showing how the ducts are fitted??

[bruceh]

I have lots of photos of the Baffles and Cowling work.

I agree that the fitting between cowl inlet and baffle ramp is confusing, and ultimately, you just have to figure it out and make it work.

[PIN 37]

Thanks Bruce, those photos were most helpfull and I like your idea of taking the front baffle off, turning the top cowl over and fitting the baffle to see how it all works. I will be doing that on the weekend.

[rzbill]

Like Bruce and others, I added custom transition fiberglass to the inner edges of the inlet ramps to provide a surface for the nose baffle material to rest on.

Inlet ramps

Sorry I don't have pics of the aluminum baffle and seal fabric but if you do the fiberglass above, the baffle side progresses in an obvious fashion.

[David-aviator]

Originally Posted by PIN 37

Thanks for the reply, but I am concerned about how the transition from the side to the back of the front baffle rubber is done( that is the baffle behind the flywheel) . I dont have any problem at the opening of the cowl.

I simply attached baffle material to aluminum aft of the fly wheel and trimmed it so the cowl would drop down into position. The aluminum piece aft of the fly wheel was previously trimmed to clear the cowl by about an inch.
You could build a dam of sorts on the cowl but that is a matter of choice. I've done three of these installs and it has not seemed necessary.

[PIN 37]

Thanks Bill, that was kinda how I thought I would progress. great to see the pictures though.