Chapter 23 – Right baffle seals installed

Today was all about finalizing the aft right corner vertical baffle seals install, and I’m happy to report that I was able to finish that task.

After determining the shape with a paper template, I started off by cutting the top corner aft right baffle seal and fitting it into place, replete with rivet holes drilled and punched.

Here’s the temp install of the aft top right vertical baffle seal segment, held in place by the new and improved 1/16″ thick 2024 angle reinforcement corner bracket (pic #1).  I then mounted the top cowl to test fit the new baffle seal segment (pic #2).  The fit was good and other than trimming down the width a bit, I had no other issues.

The next lower corner baffle seal segment was a little bit trickier, and it took a good number of iterations, both in paper templates and with real actual baffle seal material to get this piece dialed in.

After a few rounds of top cowl on and off, and 2 baffle material segments before finally hitting the configuration jackpot on the 3rd (IIRC), I finally got it dialed in.

As for baffle seals, the final segment was the inboard piece that creates a split seam with the corner piece above to allow for the upper cowl’s right #2 CAMLOC to slide in and out of place when installing or removing the cowling.  In this pic you can see blue painters tape which is what I used for a few rounds of the initial template.

Sitting just inboard of the baffle seal blue tape template is a short piece of angled 2024, which is getting installed in the inside corner to both reinforce the aft right corner, but also provide some meat for the upper outboard K1000-3 platenut that will secure the top exhaust pipe bracket in the upper right corner (I did the same on the left side).

Here we have the aft left inside bracket installed (on the inside corner held in place with the rivet facing aft).  Also note by the copper colored clecos that I drilled out the rivet holes to their final 1/8″ diameter.

After another 45 minutes of cutting and testing the inboard baffle seal segment (blue tape guy from above) I then got to gooping (Hi-temp RTV) and riveting the aft right vertical corner baffle seals into place.

A shot from the inside.

And a shot from right aft outboard.

And a shot from the front “business” side showing the rivet backs and reinforcement bracket.

Yes, it’s a bit of an odd configuration, but here you can see the right side bottom exhaust pipe bracket (mockup) outboard attachment tab secured by a screw, overlaying the bottom inboard baffle seal segment.

And a final shot of the top left exhaust pipe bracket cardboard mockup.

Tomorrow I plan on getting MOST of the aft baffle skirt’s bottom edge baffle seals cut and installed.  However, there will be baffle seals that attach to the bottom edge of the bottom exhaust pipe brackets on each side, so until I get those stainless steel brackets cut out, configured and welded up the baffle seals will not be officially completed.

That being said, I’m pressing onward!

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