A reminder that FS and WTB listings need to go in the classified subforum. Thank you!
v/r,dr
SkyDweller

SkyDweller
…RE CO story Moral of my CO story: expect the unexpected & sometimes things are hiding in plain sight!
After sealing every tiny opening in my firewall, testing different vent and cabin heat positions, opening up floor pans to install push rod boots and seal openings, exhaust checks, cowlings on and off, you name it… I completed a simple engine air intake filter change and went for a test flight. All of a sudden… I notice CO is reading zero. This makes no sense.
I reached out to a buddy of mine to talk this over and he says, “wait, didn’t you tape off a hole in the tail?”.
Why yes, I did. Since putting a piece of speed tape over an opening in the tail all the way back by my tail tie down, CO readings are zero during all phases of flight. Going to work up a proper cover/plug for this opening, but happy to say that SOMEHOW this is where I was taking in CO during climbs and descents. Fluid dynamics are a whacky thing!

N546RV
SkyDweller Oil Cooler Shutter PIREP
IO-320 9A running Aeroshell W100 Plus. I live in central FL and this was my first summer with my new-to-me 9A. The highest oil temps I have ever seen were 185F during climb. At cruise 56F OAT temp would settle around 161-163F. As temp dropped, pressure would increase from around 77 to 82-84.
I installed the ANTISPLAT shutter a few weeks ago. Below are my findings.
- Installation was straight forward. I had to trim two tabs on my baffle/oil cooler framing. I cut a gasket out of blue baffle material to help clear some rivets in the area as the shutter face is larger than the cooler itself and there were some rivets in the area which would have interfered with mounting. I had an existing opening in my firewall where I removed an RTV plug and ran the cable. Be sure to use some loctite on the Allen bolt which holds the cable to the shutter arm.
- ADD SHUTTER POSITION VERIFICATION TO ALL PHASE OF FLIGHT CHECKLISTS, emergency and go-around.
- Startup to run up I run shutter closed. It definitely speeds up oil warmup.
- run-up thru climb I leave full open with climbs now peaking at 189F with OAT being a bit cooler now, this tells me there is some level of restriction. If you have issues with oil temp being high, this mod may increase your baseline 5-10F
- At cruise I have to move shutter position to nearly full closed to maintain 185F. This has resulted in oil pressures between 75-77 versus 82-84 at 161-163F.
- I leave the shutter almost fully closed during descent, approach and landing to maintain temps around 180F where previously they would drop into the 140s during descent.
Very happy with the product, but learn what your plane likes, do-verify via checklists, and don’t forget that new little black knob on the panel! I purchased with the upgraded ratchet cable and love it. Great tactile feedback.

jcarne Smoke Update
Alrighty, finally have a little time to do a short write up on the smoke system install.
There wasn't any great smoke system kits on the market that I totally loved. Well I liked the hidden tank offered by one company but we all know what went down there.
So, off to design my own. First, I ordered a tank from Boyd welding. Supper impressed with their welding, shipping, and price. 10/10 recommend

RE: Drilling out Weldment
I attach some photos and made some measurements which may be of help. Sufficient Drill Clearance can be achieved to drill and remove the AN470-4's along the top flange of the weldment with the following:
A fore-aft cut beginning between Rivets 5 & 6 on the Firewall (this is about 4 3/4") up from the corner of the Upper Fwd Fuse Assembly skin).
A lateral cut going up between the top row of AN426-3 Rivets 6 & 7 (counting from the firewall) on the side channel, (this is about 5 3/4").
The General View shows the structure without the Upper Forward Fuselage Assy in place. The black line is as far as the Weldment goes along the C-Channel. The Right Upper Weldment shows how it sits against the side skin, its not a right angle which requires the use of the angle-drill. Sufficient Drill clearance can be achieved with the fore-aft cut from the firewall in line with Rivet 5 on the firewall, but you probably need to go between Rivets 5 & 6 for the joint not to be at a rivet.
I marked the Upper Forward Fuselage Assembly with the above lines, (the inside edge of the green tape). The depth of the cut-out looks a lot but the skin tends curves more tightly when in place. The red mark shows where 4 3/4" comes to at the aft end, the whole thing tapers but it gives you the idea. You may get away with lees of a cut-out using the angle drill to remove the rivets but may have difficulty getting an 1/8 punch in to remove the rivet head.
Hope this makes sense!
https://vansairforce.net/threads/up...-need-some-ideas-wd-1002r.230919/post-1804146

RE: The firewall-mounted 10 row Aero-classics 8000081
…bwagner The firewall-mounted 10 row Aero-classics 8000081 in my prior O375-based RV-7A; held oil temps to 180degF thru 10yrs of brutal Texas summers.
Plenums were my crude FG creations. An Avery butterfly valve controlled via a sub-panel mounted pushpull control, throttled the 4" SCAT for cooler weather.

FS: RV-9 Emp/Wing
LESS THAN HALF PRICE OFF NEW.

nickw9815

glenadavis

robber

OFF TOPIC:

Get your VansAirForce.net Charity Cap!
Please consider donating yearly to help keep this American 1-person pirate ship afloat:
Older issues of the ‘VAF News’ can be found at:
THE VAF LIST (a list of RV-related lists)
v/r,dr
SkyDweller
Wife’s RV Grin - Bahamas edition!
A few weeks ago I took my wife up for the first time in preparation for our trip to the Bahamas (Treasure Cay). It was the first time she experienced the sensation of flying in small aircraft. Lunch in St Petersburg, grin. Bahamas, huge grin! She’s not a huge fan of steep turns & such, but...
vansairforce.net

SkyDweller
…RE CO story Moral of my CO story: expect the unexpected & sometimes things are hiding in plain sight!
After sealing every tiny opening in my firewall, testing different vent and cabin heat positions, opening up floor pans to install push rod boots and seal openings, exhaust checks, cowlings on and off, you name it… I completed a simple engine air intake filter change and went for a test flight. All of a sudden… I notice CO is reading zero. This makes no sense.
I reached out to a buddy of mine to talk this over and he says, “wait, didn’t you tape off a hole in the tail?”.
Why yes, I did. Since putting a piece of speed tape over an opening in the tail all the way back by my tail tie down, CO readings are zero during all phases of flight. Going to work up a proper cover/plug for this opening, but happy to say that SOMEHOW this is where I was taking in CO during climbs and descents. Fluid dynamics are a whacky thing!
This Explains CO Reading….
I flew this morning to two outlying airports. Beautiful day… 75F. I flew solo with min fuel so airplane was light and responsive. I did full-stall landing on hard surface runways at each airport and discovered Carbon Monoxide detector registered ~10ppm after rollout. Taxi, takeoff, and...
vansairforce.net

N546RV
Houston area monthly lunch (September 2024)
Yup, it's time for a B-52 burger again. I'll also be continuing my Things I Dislike About Fiberglass series of TED talks, and I know nobody wants to miss that! When: Saturday, 11-16, 11:30 AM Where: Aviator's Grill at Hooks (KDWH)
vansairforce.net
SkyDweller Oil Cooler Shutter PIREP
IO-320 9A running Aeroshell W100 Plus. I live in central FL and this was my first summer with my new-to-me 9A. The highest oil temps I have ever seen were 185F during climb. At cruise 56F OAT temp would settle around 161-163F. As temp dropped, pressure would increase from around 77 to 82-84.
I installed the ANTISPLAT shutter a few weeks ago. Below are my findings.
- Installation was straight forward. I had to trim two tabs on my baffle/oil cooler framing. I cut a gasket out of blue baffle material to help clear some rivets in the area as the shutter face is larger than the cooler itself and there were some rivets in the area which would have interfered with mounting. I had an existing opening in my firewall where I removed an RTV plug and ran the cable. Be sure to use some loctite on the Allen bolt which holds the cable to the shutter arm.
- ADD SHUTTER POSITION VERIFICATION TO ALL PHASE OF FLIGHT CHECKLISTS, emergency and go-around.
- Startup to run up I run shutter closed. It definitely speeds up oil warmup.
- run-up thru climb I leave full open with climbs now peaking at 189F with OAT being a bit cooler now, this tells me there is some level of restriction. If you have issues with oil temp being high, this mod may increase your baseline 5-10F
- At cruise I have to move shutter position to nearly full closed to maintain 185F. This has resulted in oil pressures between 75-77 versus 82-84 at 161-163F.
- I leave the shutter almost fully closed during descent, approach and landing to maintain temps around 180F where previously they would drop into the 140s during descent.
Very happy with the product, but learn what your plane likes, do-verify via checklists, and don’t forget that new little black knob on the panel! I purchased with the upgraded ratchet cable and love it. Great tactile feedback.
Oil Cooler Shutter
I see both Vans and Anti Spat Aero has these for sale. More detailed description with the AntiSplat version. Has anyone compared the two and is there a clear winner or are they pretty much identical? Going to install one to control my oil temps.
vansairforce.net

jcarne Smoke Update
Alrighty, finally have a little time to do a short write up on the smoke system install.
There wasn't any great smoke system kits on the market that I totally loved. Well I liked the hidden tank offered by one company but we all know what went down there.
So, off to design my own. First, I ordered a tank from Boyd welding. Supper impressed with their welding, shipping, and price. 10/10 recommend
RV-7A JCarne
Before commencing on the wheel pants (which will probably be a few months from now) I wanted to get to know the aircraft better before completing them. In the video below you can see as I slow down on the roll out the main gear shimmies a bit. (the rest of the video is just me taxiing) Not my...
vansairforce.net

RE: Drilling out Weldment
I attach some photos and made some measurements which may be of help. Sufficient Drill Clearance can be achieved to drill and remove the AN470-4's along the top flange of the weldment with the following:
A fore-aft cut beginning between Rivets 5 & 6 on the Firewall (this is about 4 3/4") up from the corner of the Upper Fwd Fuse Assembly skin).
A lateral cut going up between the top row of AN426-3 Rivets 6 & 7 (counting from the firewall) on the side channel, (this is about 5 3/4").
The General View shows the structure without the Upper Forward Fuselage Assy in place. The black line is as far as the Weldment goes along the C-Channel. The Right Upper Weldment shows how it sits against the side skin, its not a right angle which requires the use of the angle-drill. Sufficient Drill clearance can be achieved with the fore-aft cut from the firewall in line with Rivet 5 on the firewall, but you probably need to go between Rivets 5 & 6 for the joint not to be at a rivet.
I marked the Upper Forward Fuselage Assembly with the above lines, (the inside edge of the green tape). The depth of the cut-out looks a lot but the skin tends curves more tightly when in place. The red mark shows where 4 3/4" comes to at the aft end, the whole thing tapers but it gives you the idea. You may get away with lees of a cut-out using the angle drill to remove the rivets but may have difficulty getting an 1/8 punch in to remove the rivet head.
Hope this makes sense!
https://vansairforce.net/threads/up...-need-some-ideas-wd-1002r.230919/post-1804146

RE: The firewall-mounted 10 row Aero-classics 8000081
…bwagner The firewall-mounted 10 row Aero-classics 8000081 in my prior O375-based RV-7A; held oil temps to 180degF thru 10yrs of brutal Texas summers.
Plenums were my crude FG creations. An Avery butterfly valve controlled via a sub-panel mounted pushpull control, throttled the 4" SCAT for cooler weather.
Show me your Firewall mounted oil cooler (RV-7)
Capt John, Jason Beaver's site has an example of how he did it with FW mounted oil cooler. His whole site is really well documented. http://jasonbeaver.com/rv7/category/firewall-forward/ I totally forgot about Jason's website! Thank you for the reminder. I really like the oil cooler drain...
vansairforce.net

FS: RV-9 Emp/Wing
LESS THAN HALF PRICE OFF NEW.
Must Sell. RV9A Project. Price now $8000. Offers considered
Project must go. Age, health and retirement finances issues. Empennage kit. 95% completed. No laser cut parts. Wing kit. 20% complete. All laser cut parts replaced. All aviation related tools donated to purchaser (including clecos). Price now down to $8000 (Van's current price for these...
www.vansairforce.net

nickw9815
Lycoming O-360 CHT1 highest on takeoff (100 deg diff), and lowest in cruise (Data attached)
On take off, my CHT1 always overheats the most so I need to pull power back to let it cool down. In cruise, it is the lowest. Lycoming engine is O-360 with carburetor. I attached data from two flights. CHT 1 and 3 are the hottest by 50 - 100 degrees relative to CHT 2,4. But once in cruise...
vansairforce.net

glenadavis
It's cold up here in Maine
I brought my new-to-me 12 home to Maine a few days ago. On the flight from PA there was a very strong draft coming from two places. One, just above the magneto switches and two, on the co-pilot side where the canopy meets the fuselage, about halfway between the panel and the seatback, near the...
vansairforce.net

robber
Integrating 430w into existing G3x panel..
I impluse-bought a nice 430w here yesterday. It arrived today complete with mounting tray and connectors. My RV4 is equipped as follows: Garmin G3X Touch (10" w/ Sirius XM Music/Weather) GPS20A WAAS (GPS Navigation/ADS-B Position Source) Garmin GDL39 (Remote Mount- ADS-B Traffic and Weather)...
vansairforce.net

OFF TOPIC:

Get your VansAirForce.net Charity Cap!
VAF Charity Cap: Help your charity and promote this site.
Get the cap all the cool kids are wearing! I don’t get a penny. It’s around $15. $5 more if you want your N-number on the back (I put 'STAFF' on the back of mine because it makes me laugh. Put STAFF on yours too if it makes you smile). And down the road $10 to the charity of your choice...
vansairforce.net
Please consider donating yearly to help keep this American 1-person pirate ship afloat:
Older issues of the ‘VAF News’ can be found at:
Doug's Area ...The VAF News, About VAF, My Resume
Pushed out every now and then.
www.vansairforce.net
THE VAF LIST (a list of RV-related lists)
THE VAF LIST (a list of RV-related lists)
The VAF List ...a list of RV-related lists. RV-related things you might want to browse over (a closed post that is sticky and maintained by dr). Link to this in 'Links' in the menu. v/r,dr Small businesses that help bring you this list of RV-related lists: 360 Avionics www.360Avionics.com Ace...
vansairforce.net