Jamie
Well Known Member
Last night I pulled my cowl to replace my flywheel (see this thread). While the cowl was off, I started checking everything out FWF as I usually do. This is when I noticed my airbox having problems. My filter started pushing through the bottom of the fiberglass. I also noticed that the mounting plate that attaches to the FI servo was broken.
These are two very common problems on these airplanes. A search here on VAF reveals that to be true.
I walked next door to recruit a hand to help me pull my prop (for the flywheel change) and my hangar neighbor had the cowl off of his Decathlon. His plane has a very similar engine setup to mine -- parallel valve 360 with vertical induction FI. His airplane has a nice, small little airbox on the bottom of the servo with alternate air trap door and scat tube on the front leading into a square filter. When I saw it I thought -- wow..why are these not used on RVs? It looks like it would be a simple gizmo to build up. The scat tube could run right up to the scoop on the bottom of the cowl.
Here are the advantages I see of this setup:
1) Smaller, thus no cowl interference issues
2) The fiberglass gets wet with oil and avgas which while wet weakens the structure. I believe this is why the filters have a tendency to push through the fiberglass. With an aluminum setup this is not possible.
3) It has a better alternate air setup than the Van's FAB which is notorious for cracking.
4) It can be built up using just aluminum, eliminating one fiberglass task from the list.![Smile :) :)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
So, what is the advantage of the Van's FAB over this setup?
These are two very common problems on these airplanes. A search here on VAF reveals that to be true.
I walked next door to recruit a hand to help me pull my prop (for the flywheel change) and my hangar neighbor had the cowl off of his Decathlon. His plane has a very similar engine setup to mine -- parallel valve 360 with vertical induction FI. His airplane has a nice, small little airbox on the bottom of the servo with alternate air trap door and scat tube on the front leading into a square filter. When I saw it I thought -- wow..why are these not used on RVs? It looks like it would be a simple gizmo to build up. The scat tube could run right up to the scoop on the bottom of the cowl.
Here are the advantages I see of this setup:
1) Smaller, thus no cowl interference issues
2) The fiberglass gets wet with oil and avgas which while wet weakens the structure. I believe this is why the filters have a tendency to push through the fiberglass. With an aluminum setup this is not possible.
3) It has a better alternate air setup than the Van's FAB which is notorious for cracking.
4) It can be built up using just aluminum, eliminating one fiberglass task from the list.
So, what is the advantage of the Van's FAB over this setup?