What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Firewall Kits - Beta

DanH

Legacy Member
Mentor
I'll be offering very complete firewall insulation kits in the near future. You'll get everything in one tube...a superior insulation, stainless foil, rivets, sealant, tape, the works. Foil and insulation will both be pre-marked, ready to cut, based on accurate patterns derived from factory firewalls. More later. For now, please be patient. I've talked to Doug, but I'm not yet officially an advertiser, and I am not taking orders at this time

Why? The last detail is to document really good instructions. I'm looking for a few builders who would like a protected firewall, and would allow me to make a personal visit to install it. That means close by, if possible.

So, if interested, and you have a 6/7/9, an 8, a 10, or a 14 kit with a bare firewall, please email and we'll see if we can make it work.

Thanks!
.
 
Dam$, missed the opportunity by 90 days. (I'm not that close anyway).

However, I have a good firewall template (homemade) if you'd like me to put in a tube and send it to you (poster board).

Fred
 
However, I have a good firewall template (homemade) if you'd like me to put in a tube and send it to you (poster board).

Thank you Fred, but we're good here. I purchased a set of production Vans firewalls in order to derive accurate cutting patterns.

My fuselage kit for a 14 will crate next month. I’d love to help out any possible way. Located in Auburn.

Noted, and quite local. Thanks!
 
Hi Dan,

I'm at 04TN and just running my fuel lines on my 14A, so probably at about the perfect place for you.

-Dan
 
Hi Dan,
I'm at 04TN and just running my fuel lines on my 14A, so probably at about the perfect place for you.

I know where that is! Ok, excellent. Bare firewall, no mount?

Everyone, send those emails to: danhorton(at)elmore.rr.com
 
interested in protected firewall: check
bare firewall: check
Dan is welcome to visit: sure, I'll buy beer
local? well..., not so much
 
Dan, I have a bare RV-8 firewall in my garage in Northern Virginia near Dulles airport. Finishing up riveting to get to quickbuild stage. No engine mount. Not local for you but figured I'd make you aware.
 
Hey Dan,
RV-10 bare firewall on QB Fuse in Michigan and currently considering how to lose heat transfer through firewall in general and in the worst case as well. If you're setting up an email list please put me on it. [email protected]
 
RV8 QB crating in May. Would love to discuss if it's helpful for you. I know it would be for me. Not too far away in Fort Walton Beach.
 
I'm off to PJ in a few minutes, but here's an update for the curious.

I decided to delay general availability and conduct new burn tests, to better document typical performance, examine some details of installation, and look at a few new ideas. Most of it is now complete. One remaining thorny detail involves proseal, which is too flammable for my liking. I have an idea for mitigation, but until then, please don't allow exposed proseal on the cabin side, notably a bead squeezing out of the seams at a firewall recess.

I'll be posting video at some point, but here are temperature plots for three 16x18 test panels. There are three thermocouples, one in the flame immediately in front of the panel, one attached to an aluminum angle riveted to the stainless as we do in building a Vans firewall, and one on a "heat target", an aluminum panel painted flat black for maximum radiant absorption. It serves as a proxy for the pilot's feet, or material installed in the cabin near the firewall.

Hot side temperature was held very near 2000F for the insulation samples, and somewhat less for the bare firewall sample, ranging from 1500 to 2000F. All burn runs are scheduled for 10 minutes. The bare firewall test terminated early because the rivets and aluminum angle both melt at about 1100F.

In the photo, left to right: cell phone used as a timer, structure and target (top and bottom respectively), and the flame side temperature in C and F.

I have run a few examples of very poor "insulation" choices. Here's an early one, a random chunk of foam, while friend Bill Brock and I practice our test routine. One could argue the foam was not somehow "certified" for flammability, but believe me, I've seen this sort of material in airplanes. Even certified cabin wall insulation fails badly when exposed to a red hot firewall. Here the "cabin" would have been unsurvivable about 12 seconds into an engine fire.

https://youtu.be/U-FTJhzjFjo

More later. Please be patient.
.
 

Attachments

  • Temperature Plots.jpg
    Temperature Plots.jpg
    52.7 KB · Views: 118
  • Thermocouple Locations.jpg
    Thermocouple Locations.jpg
    157.9 KB · Views: 121
Last edited:
The title of that video should be “Bama boys playin’ with fire in the woods!” Ya’ll be careful out there - we’ve got all the wildfire tankers busy on this end of the country, and we can’t spare ‘em if you catch the swamp on fire….. ;)
 
Not much risk this year. August has typically been a dry month in South Alabama, but recently it has been more like living in the tropics.
 
Back
Top