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Engine Update February 2009 Updates February 01, 2009 Baffles.... - 3.0 hrs When I pulled in this morning I was going to take a closer pic of the helicopter from the accident yesterday but it has been moved. I got the lowdown on the accident. The helicopter was midfield in the grass. THe T6 made the call they were rolling on 27 for departure. The helicopter decided to go ahead and take off in front of the T6 and the other aircraft which was #2 for takeoff. This is a perfect example of how these helos at Weiser have been operating for several years now. They were hangared at the hangar across from me the that was destroyed by IKE. They have continued to use non standard approaches in front of other aircraft. They have even crossed over the top of my hangar and sat down in front of their hangar. Once I had one pull up behind me when I was at the gas pump and stay in a hover at about 3 feet the entire time I was filling up. Blowing grass around and shaking the plane the whole time. Anyway maybe they will fly standard patterns now and follow the traffic accordingly. Finally getting started on some baffle work. First step was to cut out the seperate parts from the 2 prefabbed pieces. These parts are really nice from Vans. Instead of fabbing these up out of 3/4 angle these strips have the cut marks on them and the plans sheet is documented really well. I marked each piece and cut the pieces apart and then cleaned them up on the scotchbrite wheel. Next I followed the instuctions and started clecoing the doubler parts in place on the #4 cylinder piece. Then I used a file to clean up the edges so it would fit around the valve cover. I final drilled the holes for rivets and deburred. Next I fabbed up a doubler piece. Checked everything for fit and then I dimpled and riveted the doublers in place. I screwed the #4 cyl piece in place for one more check on fit. Looks good. Moved on to the Oil cooler pieces. The new kit includes a box piece that mounts to the back wall that the oil cooler attaches to. This pieces not only makes the back stronger but allows for a level edge for the baffle material to mount to. I have seen others struggle over the years with alot of custom fabrication in this corner. I am going to put all of this together but wait until I have it in place before I cut the hole for the oil cooler. Just to make sure of clearance issues with the motor mount. This website was built to document my work in compliance with the FAA requirements needed to certify my aircraft. My experiences and comments are by no means to be considered as instructions on how to build any aircraft.