Recap on Engine Installation

When I left this blog few years ago, I didn't take the time to write on my engine installation after the Titanium firewall was complete! Before getting into other topics, I will just wrap up this chapter first.

It went fairly smoothly since there was no change to the accessories and hoses. Again, I found easier to mount all of them as well as the engine mount while the engine was still on the hoist. Then I could precisely position the FWF assembly against the firewall with the help of my dad and the engine leveler:

While the engine was gone in the shop for repair, I also took the opportunity to modify by exhaust to provide more support. When I bought the airplane, the whole stack was held only by the cylinders, and each time I was pulling Gs, I had this fear of having a cracked exhaust after my flight.

I looked at several attachments on other aircraft, including some fancy ones linked to the engine mount with springs to allow movement... It seemed overly complicated to me since I did have attachment points available directly on the engine oil sump. This didn't require springs since the exhaust is moving with the engine.

I spent quite some time looking at the engine to find the easiest way to hook the exhaust. Took some cardboard to simulate small brackets. I ended up with two brackets, one for each pair of my crossover exhaust. 

I gave precise instructions to my welder in order to add two lugs to the exhaust with my desired angles. I then took the exhaust for ceramic coating since I got rid of the fiberglass wrapping and wanted to mitigate the risk of high cowl temps. Once I got everything back in the hangar, I was pleased with the fit of the exhaust with my new SS brackets:

Another fix that helps quite a bit my peace of mind!

One other thing that was long overdue was the making of new baffles. The old ones were patched, cracked and the baffle seal was all dried up.

Never underestimate the amount of time required to make new baffles from scracth... Took me in average a day for each baffle panel. Used all sorts of tools like an air nibbler to make the first rough cut and then a beverly shear for the finish cut. My friend Scott's tools were again very useful!

I used the old baffles as a template basis, with cardboard at some locations where I wanted an extension of the metal to better follow the cowl's inner shape. Lots of trial and errors, but perseverance paid off and I was quite happy with the end result:

Last step was to install the silicone baffling material (that's the fun part). I decided to use #4 screws with heat nuts instead of pop rivets to better control the pressure on the silicone material. This helped minimizing the ripple effect when excessively squeezed.

Once the baffles were finished, I painted them to protect them against corrosion, Reinstalled all panels and cowling, made a good wash to the airplane, weighed it and then went flying!

It felt so good to get back in the air again. Here's a few shots taken by Stephen J. Thorne (awesome photographer) in Gatineau (CYND). Formation was with my friend Peter Ashwood in his beautiful S-1T:

...Now back to 2022 winter! With my house almost done, I can finally get back in airplane mode and I have the following plans for this winter:

- New Spinner 

- New Lexan belly

- Battery relocation 

- ELT 406 installation

- AV30 + TailbeaconX installation

That's quite a bit for this winter but hopefully I can get all of this done in time for the spring weather!

Thanks for reading!

Hoist swap

Small update today. I had to swap hoists for my engine since I borrowed the blue one and its owner wanted it back. I decided to search for a used one and found the red one below. I discovered the existence of what they call an engine leveler which is a very simple device, but very useful since I can adjust the pitch angle of the engine with it. You can see it between the engine in the hoist hook on the second picture. This is going to help a lot the day I'll put the engine back on the fuse.

I haven't posted a lost in the last months, but I'm still working on many different things on the airplane. Among them are the elevator flight controls and new fuselage access panels. I'll post updates here once I have full stories ready!

Big thanks to my father Victor who helped me swapping hoists. Thanks also to Pierre who let me use his hoist for such a long time.

Old hoist:

New hoist:

Removals

Ok so here are tidbits on the removal process.

First thing I chose to do was to remove the engine. I found a guy on my home airport that had a hoist I could use to lift the engine. Had to buy the clamps to attach the chain on the crankcase. I decided to buy two and have two attachment points in order not having to remove all the injection system just to lift the engine. I also decided to remove the engine along with all accessories, engine mount and even the firewall all together:

The engine removal took me about two full days to do.

Then I had to build a wing rack that had to be compact and on wheels to move in around since we're two airplanes in a small hangar. The rack took me a full day to build, then with the help of a friend, I started removing the bottom wings, followed by the top wings.

The hangar being small, I realized at that point I had too many parts laying around so I decided to build some shelves and wall racks to store my parts:

Few days later... More shelves and the fuel tank removal:

Again few days later, the panel and systems removal including throttle cable, fuel system, rudder pedals and brakes:

So here I am today. I am now at the point where I need advice on the welding process (which parts can be fixed/changed, preparation, how to minimize the deformation with welding heat, etc.) I will touch base with a professional aviation welder that know well the 4130 chromoly...