Baffling mega post:

The following is a big post with all the baffle work I have done since March. The baffles combined with the front cowling are a huge amount of work!

Here is the snorkel after the initial fiberglassing to reconnect the two pieces. This should be enough to lock it in position. When I get back from work I will remove it, reinforce it, and do the finishing including painting. 

After prepping the pieces I used electrical tape as a rough form to lay the wetted out fiberglass strips on. 

Trimming the lower piece for a slightly smoother transition. 

Getting the filter opening trimmed just right took a while. I also had to trim the left lower cowl nostril to clear the air filter. I will be making a removable hold down piece for the left and right side of the filter. 

My fancy cnc machined o-ring valve covers have a slightly different profile from the stock ones so the baffles need to be trimmed a bit more....

A lot of baffles on / lower cowl on and off to get the fit dialed in. 

The right conical gusset was really a hassle. The third try turned out good. 

I used paper patterns, research on VAF and several attempts to work out the gusset. 

To get the snorkel opening to work I cut it into three pieces then riveted the aluminum brackets to it. In this photo I’m getting ready to glass it back together. 

Playing with snorkel alignment. The baffles, induction system and cowl are like a big jigsaw puzzle. 

Snorkel after drilling, squaring off and sanding the front face level around the bolts. 

Locating the holes precisely for the snorkel was involved but that’s normal for all of these parts. I used a stubby drill bit through the back side of the fuel servo to mark the holes. 

Vans has you removing the prop oil line to take the baffles on and off. I think that is a bad plan so I came up with this mod. It was inspired by similar mods from the internet. 

I used two number 8 screws, nut plates and a cover plate that allow the oil line to stay in place. 

 Just getting started on fitting the left baffle ramp with the cowl:

Drilled the 4” hose flange to the rear left baffle wall (after cutting the 4” hole!):

I also spent some time finish sanding my patched cowl bulge. It’s turning out good. I don’t think it will be visible at all after primer.  

Baffle work and more cowling

I had some family help working on the various baffle parts. Dad is working on some edge finishing!

My brother Paul was in town for a visit and fired up to work on the RV-7.

Flange drilled to the baffle and hole cutout for the oil cooler air supply:

After a good bit of sanding on the ex-bulge spot I applied another thin layer of filler and also worked on filling pinholes on the lower cowl.

Making progress on the aft portion of the baffles:

  

This is after sanding the first layer of microlight filler. It came out a little low so I added another layer.

I used the West low density filler to build up the area around the spinner. It's definitely stronger but harder to sand. 

A little windscreen work and battle of the bulge

I removed all the clips and spacers from the windscreen. I'm very happy with the results.

The next step will be doing some sanding on the outside Sikaflex and then applying another layer to fill gaps left by the spacers and clips. I will also try to get a nice cosmetic fillet on the inside of the roll bar.

I was happy to remove the ill conceived bulge from the lower cowl!

I used some very thin aluminum as a form for the new fiberglass:

Here is the form ready for fiberglass:

I went with 4 layers of cloth to give more allowance for sanding:

The initial repair went well. Although a fair amount of filling and sanding is still to come.

Initial Sikaflex windscreen install

I was able to get the first phase of the windscreen install done today. I'm happy with the results so far. I think all of the prep work will pay off.

I went ahead and installed the defog fans. (I'm really looking forward to "permanently" installing the instrument panel and all the avionics!)

 

Windscreen taping in progress:

 Fuselage taping done:

Windscreen primed with Sika 209D (used the "Aktivator 205" first):

Fuselage primed:

First application of Sikaflex 295UV after some smoothing. I taped some weights to the windscreen to help close a small gap in the front.

I'm going to let the Sikaflex cure for a few days then I will remove the clips and spacers. I will clean everything up and apply a more Sikaflex and try to get a nice finish on the inside of the canopy. I will also be adding some weatherstrip to the inside and the outside will be covered by a fiberglass layup.

Inverted oil system hose and windscreen

I was not happy the appearance of the bulge I installed in the cowling to allow room for the routing of my oil return hose from the half Raven inverted oil system. I was either looking at major rework on the bulge or hose reroute. I found that a 180 degree fitting would allow a different hose route and not require any cowling change. I watched the EAA video on making your own hoses and ordered parts from Summit Racing.

Here is the key 180 fitting and the 10AN braided hose with the new route:

The hose is just for draining oil back to the sump. The Raven sump fitting is also protected by a standpipe in case of hose failure. 

These tools made the process easy: no mar aluminum adjustable AN wrench and vice jaws, also the ice pick and modified pliers make adel clamps very easy to install.

Glareshield paint turned out nice:

After priming glareshield:

Windscreen ready for install. 

I will use some weight on the center of the windscreen and the temporary clips on the sides for the initial Sikaflex application.

Getting closer:

A lot of on and off and iterative sanding with my small belt sander.

Initial fitting:

I also did some reinforcements on the wheel pants: