The misc. parts I ordered from Van's came
today. One of the items ordered was a castle
nut. I went to the hangar and installed
the castle nut and a cotter pin on the cooler door assembly. That part of the build is now complete. I then turned my attention to the narrow
distance between the muffler and the oil cooler. From all I have read in the VAF RV-12 forum
it indicates that if the distance between the oil cooler and the muffler is
less than 1" there will most likely be high oil temperatures during the
summer months. Since we are planning to
move to Kanab, UT in a year or two from now, it seems prudent that I would do
something now about the arrangement of the oil cooler and the muffler. I marked the outline of the oil cooler on the
cowl duct. Then I marked where to cut
the duct so I can move the cooler mount ½" forward. I then used my Dremel tool to cut that
section out of the duct. I am now
committed to making the change to the duct.
I have cut out and removed ½" from the forward section of
duct. I have mounted the duct and the
cut out piece to the lower cowling. I
need to leave so I will think about how I am going to make this change permanent.
I will need to do a little more
modifying the parts so they fit better.
Then I am going to need to go to a supplier and purchase some more
fiberglass epoxy. I have plenty of
fiberglass cloth and peal-ply to make the modification and install the duct to
the lower cowling. With the oil cooler mounting
face reinstalled on the cowling duct the distance between the cooler and the
muffler will be 1"+.
