- 12.1 Engine arrival
- 12.1 Engine Installation Prep
- 12.1 Engine Installation Prep
- 12.1.2 Engine Mounts
- 12.1.2 Engine Installation
- 12.2.1 Aluminun Oil Lines
- 12.2.1 Aluminum Oil Lines
- 12.2.1 Cabin Heat
- 12.2.2 Fuel Lines
- 12.2.2 Fuel Lines
- 12.1.2 Intake tube modification
- 12.2.2 Fuel Lines
- 12.1.2 Intake tube modification
- 12.1.2 Intake tube modification (completed)
- 12.3.1 – Installing Throttle, Mixture, and Prop Controls
- 12.3.1 – Mixture Control Mounting Bracket
- 12.3.1 Prop Control Bracket
- 12.3.1 Throttle Control Bracket
- 12.2.3 Cylinder Intake Drain Lines
- 12.2.1 – Aluminum Oil Lines
- 12.3.4 Cooling Plenum
- 12.1.2 Oil Cooler mod
- 12.2.4 Pressure lines
- 12.3.4 Cooling Plenum
- 12.2.4 Pressure Lines
- 12.3.4 Cooling Plenum Intakes
- 12.2.3 Electric Fuel Pump Drain
- 12.2.3 Mechanical Fuel Pump Drain
- 12.2.3 Fuel Pump Drain Lines
- 12.2.3 Spider Drain Line
- 12.3.5 Propeller
- 12.4 Exhaust Installation
- 12.3.6 Nose Oil Cooler
- 12.3.6 Nose Oil Cooler Control
- 12.4 EGT Probe Installation
- 12.2.4 Oil Pressure Sensor (remediation)
- 12.4 Oil breather line
- 12.3.4 NACA duct extensions
- 12.4.2 Exhaust Fairing
- 12.3.6 Cabin Heat Damper Control
- 12.99 Induction Air
- 12.2.2 Fuel Line
- 12.3.6 Nose Mounted Oil Cooler
- 12.99 Engine Woes
- Engine Dehydrator
- Fouled injectors
- 12.99 – Oil temperature and heat challenges
- 12.99 Cabin Heat
- Electronic Ignition
- 12.99 Engine induction air
I’ve never liked the factory supplied exhaust. It amounts to 6 individual pipes (three on each side). The middle pipe on each side is straight. The forward and rear pipe on each side have a bend so that they each exit the bottom of the cowl directly adjacent the middle pipe. Not only does it result in a larger opening in the cowl, but recent flight tests by other builders have determined that the exhaust exiting perpendicular to the outside airflow generates drag which results in a loss of airspeed.
My original plan was to obtain a set a exhaust headers from an old Cirrus. Mooney or other IO550N aircraft.
I was thinking that I could reverse the direction and then they would exit the cowl pointing back. But A) I wouldn’t find any affordable headers and B) my rough calculations showed they wouldn’t inside the cowling. Having custom exhaust headers was WAY too expensive.
Then another builder (Scott Derrick) told me about Clinton Anderson at Custom Aircraft. I sent Clinton the dimensions that I wanted and he whipped up a pair of custom exhaust headers at about a quarter what I was looking at for used Cirrus headers (which would have still required significant modifications).
Within a week, I had my new headers (with an oil breather line plumbed too).
The left side header is a little longer since it sits forward of the right side. Because of the slope of the cowling, it has to be longer to exit the cowl.
Then I installed the lower cowling and marked the location where the exhaust would be penetrating the lower cowl with green tape.
Then cut the initial holes for each side (a little smaller than necessary. After that, it was raise the cowl, see where it contacts the exhaust, trim away some of the cowling around the exhaust, raise the cowling, see where it contacts the exhaust, trim away some of the cowling around the exhaust, raise the cowling, etc., etc., etc.
Eventually, I was able to install the lower cowling with the exhaust outlet extending beyond the cowling.
Left Side
Right Side (on the inside view, you can see where the breather tube will dump into the exhaust)
My next task here will be to create a fairing in front of the exhaust to streamline the airflow around the exhaust outlet.