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Dave's RV-7A Builder's Log
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Date: 3-29-2015
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Number of Hours: 6.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Baffle fabric and tension rods
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Another nice day at the hangar—I love Spring! I spent most of the session installing the rest of the baffle fabric, and I was pretty pleased with the results.
For the uninitiated, the baffle fabric completes the seal between the aluminum baffles and the top of the cowling. This seal is critical to ensure that all of the cooling air is captured and directed down through the cylinders and oil cooler. Without the fabric, the air would simply flow over the top of the baffles and there would be little available air to cool the engine. By careful fitting, the air flowing into the cowling holds the fabric against the fiberglass and effectively raises the air pressure at the top of the cowling, thus causing the air to flow through the cylinders to the lower pressure area below. Or something like that.
Once the fabric was installed, I returned back to the tension rods. It turns out that a little bit of tapering, a lot of oil, and some patience was all that was required. Stainless steel tends to “chip” rather than cut (my explanation, no metallurgists were consulted) and as such, periodic cleaning of the chips seemed to help the die cut better. That meant for every two turns of the die, I had to back it off, clean the chips, and add some oil. I ended up finishing one—the other three will be next.
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Back left side in progress
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Front, just behind spinner
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Tension rod #1 initial fitting
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