~Engine~
Here is my Engine. It is a Lycoming 0-360-A2A. It will produce 180 horsepower
at full power and sea level.
I purchased it from Aero Sport Power in Canada. Bart Lalonde really does some
fantastic work! You can reach Bart at: 800-667-0522. He has done many engines for RV
builders on the RV-List.
The spin-on oil filter you see at the rear of the engine will be replaced with an adapter
to send hoses to a remotely mounted oil filter.
Working on installing the engine mount. The kit comes with 1/4" holes drilled
at the mounting points. These holes do not simply fall in the center of the
3/8" holes on the mount. Some are offset. Here is how I solved the
problem. I found two holes that were close to the center of the mounting holes on
the mount. I then got a brass bushing that has a 3/8" OD and a 1/4"
ID. This allowed the 1/4" in bolts to be in the center of the mounting holes,
and then you can bolt it to the firewall. Now that you have two holes mounted, you
can use the mount as a guide to drill out the other off-center holes. If this does
not make sense, email me, and I can explain further.
It's time! I finally get to take this thing out of the box after almost a year
of it sitting there! What a beautiful site....a zero time Bart Lalonde 180 HP
0-360 A2A engine showing off it's potential energy by hovering in the garage. Just
don't pay attention to the chain...it takes away from the effect!
Only fellow RV builder and RV-Lister Larry Olson would understand what a momentous
occaision this was. He drove 50 miles just to help me hang this. Not to
mention, brought my new steel wing jig and engine hoist in his truck! Also seen
doing the lifting, well assisting the hoist with the lifting, is Kevin H...he is THINKING
about an RV. I think this might have helped him along in his decision making!
Working on the Vetterman exhaust. This exhaust fit perfectly right out of the box. The support brackets were a little tricky, but the whole process took me all of 2 hours.
Oh yes...time for those damn engine baffles. I am not going to sugar coat
anything..just believe me, it is not one of the most rewarding parts of the airplane to
construct. Here the right side is being assembled and stiffened with angles.
This is the right side floor. The floors were the hardest part yet on the
baffles. It takes many hours of cutting, bending, fitting, cut fingers and knuckles,
etc to make them fit your cowl. The baffle kit is not really a kit, just a
guidline. I guess it is kind of worth it, since it probably saved a couple of days
of fabrication of the parts, but they don't fit that well. Ok, I feel better now
that you hear my frustrations! Thanks for listening.
No this is
not a builder fabricated instrument of death, it is my solution to the cracking baffle
problem that is caused from a heavy oil cooler mounted on the back of the baffles.
The problem is, there is just not enough support to stop vibrations. There is a
piece of angle that is added to the side which helps, but I feel this needs to be added as
well for insurance purposes.
Here it is installed. Now you can not jiggle the back of the baffle. It is bolted directly to the back of the engine, so that it has an isolation point that is not part of the baffles. It works really well in my prelimary flutter tests. Time will tell when I fly this thing tomorrow. (Just kidding, I wish I was flying tomorrow)