Bubblehead
Well Known Member
This past winter my buddy, Mike, and I did a big upgrade on my RV-8. Mike had helped me install the 10? SkyView system back about 2011, and everything worked great first time. We also added an access panel in the rear bulkhead of the front baggage compartment. If you are building an -8, I strongly suggest you add that during construction but it was not too bad adding it after. I bought the kit from Troy Grover at Grov-air and it worked well. [email protected] 317-919-6594.
Back to 2014/15. I?d bought the RV already flying and the baffles were not particularly well done. In Texas if you want to fly in the summer you need good, tight baffles to keep CHTs reasonable and a good oil cooler. While the baffle mounted oil cooler on my RV worked well (AeroClassics 8000081) I wanted to have excess cooling capacity.
Here is the complete list of upgrades:
1) Vans baffle kit.
2) FAB snorkel for horizontal induction
3) Superior cold air sump. Beautiful product with all the parts and it fit up perfectly.
4) Fumoto T202NS Nipple Type Drain Valve NPT1/2-14. I like this unit!
5) Dynon Mode-S transponder with antenna from DeltaPop aviation
6) Dynon ADS-B receiver with antenna from DeltaPop aviation
7) DeltaPop Aviation Comm antenna ? I can now get ATIS from Fort Worth Alliance Airport while on the ground at Hicks Airfield.
8) AirFlow Systems 2006X oil cooler on the motor mount with a 4? duct and slide valve.
9) Reinforced the rear edge of the rear baggage floor
10) Installed new Lester #14684 alternator purchased on eBay and a Dayco 15350 belt.
Snorkle ? just one comment on this ? I had two mental breakthroughs (not breakdowns, but almost.) The first is when I said scr*w it, I?ll just cut it in two. Once in two pieces we mounted the air filter half, mounted the rest on the servo and then just sliced and diced until the two joined up. The second is when I bought some brass strips at the hobby shop and some Bondo from the auto parts place to get all the pieces aligned and locked into the right geometry. Once I cut enough slits into the fab I would cut some 3? or so lengths of brass, bend the brass at the right angle to hold things together and then just Bondo them in place. Bondo sets up fast so you can sit and hold it in place pretty easily. In most cases I?d Bondo the strip to one side of the cut and then after that set up, I?d Bondo the other side while holding everything in place. Most times I could use safety wire and sticks and things to hold everything in position while the Bondo set up. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of the brass strips and Bondo but here are pictures of the slits I made in the sump and the finished product.
Once the strips and Bondo were in place I removed the snorkel from the plane, fiberglassed the inside of the snorkel. Once that was cured I removed the brass and Bondo, cleaned up the outside, and fiberglassed the outside.
Like everyone else I had to make some pretty big cuts along the top of the snorkel to make room for the starter and alternator. I use a B and C starter and they take up a little more room than the others on the market but I think they are so well made they are worth it. The finished snorkel came out pretty good.
Oil Cooler A couple of years ago someone posted on this forum how they used a Grizzly Industrial slide door to control flow to the oil cooler. I liked his idea and bought a W1142 - 4" Aluminum Blast Gate. http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-Aluminum-Blast-Gate/W1142 It cost about $20 with shipping, and we used a CT A-740 RED cable from Vans to move the slide up and down from the cockpit. That is the same cable except red instead of black that Vans supplies for the alternate air door on the snorkel.
The oil cooler is an AirFlow Systems 2006X oil cooler mounted on the motor mount behind the left side of the engine. I originally wanted to mount it to the firewall on the right side because I have some space there, but the oil dip stick tube is right in the way. There is also a heat muff and scat tubing from the baffles to the muff that would have to be relocated. We finally decided to go to the left side. AirFlow Systems also provided a fiberglass 90 degree duct that mates to 4? scat hose. The one I selected was for the next size larger cooler, so I had to modify it a bit but it was not very hard. Bill Genevro, Managing Director at Airflow Systems (949-218-9701) was a lot of help on this project. I think he may be developing a duct with a butterfly valve in it. I hope he does because it would simplify this project a bit. It really wasn?t hard to do once we figured out what we wanted to do. http://www.airflow-systems.com/oil-cooler-air-plenums/
Alternator The original alternator was still on the plane after almost 900 flight hours with no problems except the mounting lug was getting worn out and I was afraid it would crack. The new one has a better lug system, which necessitated modifying the mounting bracket but it all worked out fine. I did not even have a blast tube cooling the regulator. I may add one soon. The other thing I learned concerns the belt that is used to drive the alternator. My alternator pully had worn a slot into the inside surface of my lower cowl. The belts are available in various lengths (of course) but it is easy to order one just a little shorter! It took a little trial and error but we found one that moved the alternator up just a little so the alternator is not rubbing on the cowl. I had been using a Dayco 15355 belt and now use a 15350 which has a ?? shorter effective length.
The old alternator with one mounting lug is on the left and the new one with two lugs is on the right. Much better.
Outcome I?ve flown the plane about 20 hours since the upgrades and everything is working great. Yesterday was the first day in the 90?s we?ve had so it was a good day to see if the baffles and oil cooler are up to the task. I am happy to say they are. I did not do a prolonged climb because I was wanting to look at some of the flooding, but I pushed it hard and CHTs stayed below 390F, which is very good compared to a year ago. I closed the oil cooler door most of the way before takeoff because the oil was still cool, and during the flight I had it about ? open and oil temp was about 210F. I could have brought it down by opening the door more but the temp was fine so I just enjoyed the flight.
Back to 2014/15. I?d bought the RV already flying and the baffles were not particularly well done. In Texas if you want to fly in the summer you need good, tight baffles to keep CHTs reasonable and a good oil cooler. While the baffle mounted oil cooler on my RV worked well (AeroClassics 8000081) I wanted to have excess cooling capacity.
Here is the complete list of upgrades:
1) Vans baffle kit.
2) FAB snorkel for horizontal induction
3) Superior cold air sump. Beautiful product with all the parts and it fit up perfectly.
4) Fumoto T202NS Nipple Type Drain Valve NPT1/2-14. I like this unit!
5) Dynon Mode-S transponder with antenna from DeltaPop aviation
6) Dynon ADS-B receiver with antenna from DeltaPop aviation
7) DeltaPop Aviation Comm antenna ? I can now get ATIS from Fort Worth Alliance Airport while on the ground at Hicks Airfield.
8) AirFlow Systems 2006X oil cooler on the motor mount with a 4? duct and slide valve.
9) Reinforced the rear edge of the rear baggage floor
10) Installed new Lester #14684 alternator purchased on eBay and a Dayco 15350 belt.
Snorkle ? just one comment on this ? I had two mental breakthroughs (not breakdowns, but almost.) The first is when I said scr*w it, I?ll just cut it in two. Once in two pieces we mounted the air filter half, mounted the rest on the servo and then just sliced and diced until the two joined up. The second is when I bought some brass strips at the hobby shop and some Bondo from the auto parts place to get all the pieces aligned and locked into the right geometry. Once I cut enough slits into the fab I would cut some 3? or so lengths of brass, bend the brass at the right angle to hold things together and then just Bondo them in place. Bondo sets up fast so you can sit and hold it in place pretty easily. In most cases I?d Bondo the strip to one side of the cut and then after that set up, I?d Bondo the other side while holding everything in place. Most times I could use safety wire and sticks and things to hold everything in position while the Bondo set up. Unfortunately I did not take pictures of the brass strips and Bondo but here are pictures of the slits I made in the sump and the finished product.
Once the strips and Bondo were in place I removed the snorkel from the plane, fiberglassed the inside of the snorkel. Once that was cured I removed the brass and Bondo, cleaned up the outside, and fiberglassed the outside.
Like everyone else I had to make some pretty big cuts along the top of the snorkel to make room for the starter and alternator. I use a B and C starter and they take up a little more room than the others on the market but I think they are so well made they are worth it. The finished snorkel came out pretty good.
Oil Cooler A couple of years ago someone posted on this forum how they used a Grizzly Industrial slide door to control flow to the oil cooler. I liked his idea and bought a W1142 - 4" Aluminum Blast Gate. http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-Aluminum-Blast-Gate/W1142 It cost about $20 with shipping, and we used a CT A-740 RED cable from Vans to move the slide up and down from the cockpit. That is the same cable except red instead of black that Vans supplies for the alternate air door on the snorkel.
The oil cooler is an AirFlow Systems 2006X oil cooler mounted on the motor mount behind the left side of the engine. I originally wanted to mount it to the firewall on the right side because I have some space there, but the oil dip stick tube is right in the way. There is also a heat muff and scat tubing from the baffles to the muff that would have to be relocated. We finally decided to go to the left side. AirFlow Systems also provided a fiberglass 90 degree duct that mates to 4? scat hose. The one I selected was for the next size larger cooler, so I had to modify it a bit but it was not very hard. Bill Genevro, Managing Director at Airflow Systems (949-218-9701) was a lot of help on this project. I think he may be developing a duct with a butterfly valve in it. I hope he does because it would simplify this project a bit. It really wasn?t hard to do once we figured out what we wanted to do. http://www.airflow-systems.com/oil-cooler-air-plenums/
Alternator The original alternator was still on the plane after almost 900 flight hours with no problems except the mounting lug was getting worn out and I was afraid it would crack. The new one has a better lug system, which necessitated modifying the mounting bracket but it all worked out fine. I did not even have a blast tube cooling the regulator. I may add one soon. The other thing I learned concerns the belt that is used to drive the alternator. My alternator pully had worn a slot into the inside surface of my lower cowl. The belts are available in various lengths (of course) but it is easy to order one just a little shorter! It took a little trial and error but we found one that moved the alternator up just a little so the alternator is not rubbing on the cowl. I had been using a Dayco 15355 belt and now use a 15350 which has a ?? shorter effective length.
The old alternator with one mounting lug is on the left and the new one with two lugs is on the right. Much better.
Outcome I?ve flown the plane about 20 hours since the upgrades and everything is working great. Yesterday was the first day in the 90?s we?ve had so it was a good day to see if the baffles and oil cooler are up to the task. I am happy to say they are. I did not do a prolonged climb because I was wanting to look at some of the flooding, but I pushed it hard and CHTs stayed below 390F, which is very good compared to a year ago. I closed the oil cooler door most of the way before takeoff because the oil was still cool, and during the flight I had it about ? open and oil temp was about 210F. I could have brought it down by opening the door more but the temp was fine so I just enjoyed the flight.
