For those of you that have used vans FWF kit do you think it is worth it and cost effective? also did it all fit properly, did things have to be modified or is it better to put it together your self.
The answer to this has many dimensions and is very situational dependent. I can tell you that for me it was worth it. I didn't even attempt to price everything out. I am not an A&P and have never even changed the oil on an aircraft. So, I felt that I needed as much "hand holding" as possible. The FF kit helped there a lot. Almost, everything has fit well. I only say almost because I am now trying to route my manifold pressure line and find that the supplied hose will require me to place the firewall feedthrough where I don't really want to.
Also, the timed saved by not having to identify each part and order it separately is substantial. For example, this past weekend I was hooking up the throttle and mixture cables to the carb. If I had to sit down and figure how long the bolts needed to be and what combination (and part numbers) of washers I needed, it would have taken me forever. With the FF kit, I just opened up a bag of parts and everything was there. I didn't want to be in the middle of working on something and having to stop, go research a source, and then wait severals days to a week for the parts to arrive. I would also think that if you add up the individual freight/handling charges they would eat into any savings you might gain.
The advantages I see from doing it a piece at a time are flexibility and the timing of funds needed. If you plan to do a lot of things differently than most or don't have the funds for the "big bang" approach, piecing it out may make sense.
I also found it WELL worth while. For a newbie not knowing a carbeurator from a fuel-pump, having things laid-out, labelled and detailed plans for installation made the process many times faster than it otherwise would have been.
If your install matches the plan that Van's put together, most have agreed that the FWF can save you a few bucks and a ton of pain and agony putting it all together and if you count shipping charges, can save you a bunch.
If you stray from their plan with different engines or combinations, you will have problems with some of the hoses, cables, ect.
If your install matches the plan that Van's put together, most have agreed that the FWF can save you a few bucks and a ton of pain and agony putting it all together and if you count shipping charges, can save you a bunch.
If you stray from their plan with different engines or combinations, you will have problems with some of the hoses, cables, ect.
Brantel, what exactly do you mean by "the plan that Van's put together"? I'm sure an Egenfellner doesn't qualify as "Van's plan", but I'm installing an AeroSport IO-360 with Horizontal induction. Does something like that qualify as a "Van's plan"? Or, are you talking about something else?
Brantel, what exactly do you mean by "the plan that Van's put together"? I'm sure an Egenfellner doesn't qualify as "Van's plan", but I'm installing an AeroSport IO-360 with Horizontal induction. Does something like that qualify as a "Van's plan"? Or, are you talking about something else?
What I mean is that you use an engine the same or very similar to one that Van's sells and you follow their directions on where to put your firewall mounted items and holes.
If your engine is not the same as one of Van's standards, some stuff won't work...same goes for stuff and holes on the firewall. If you don't follow their FWF plans, all bets are off.
In my case, I am using a Vertical Induction, Carb'd O-360 and put everything right where they told me to. So far all FWF items have worked perfectly.
