Today I pulled the trigger on my exhaust system.  The exhaust had been a huge question mark on my list of things to do for a very long time.  Luckily, a quick email to Long-EZ Buildmaster Mike Beasley quickly cleared up any questions I had on Long-EZ exhaust systems.  He quickly referred me to a Long-EZ exhaust system guru, Clinton Anderson, from Custom Aircraft Parts in El Cajon, California.

Clinton and I discussed the exact type of exhaust I needed for my IOX-340S.  It came out to be fairly simple, since it’s the same exact exhaust system used on an I/O-320.  Below is the initial technical drawing he sent me.

And here are some pics of these exhaust pipes on Mike Beasley’s fantastic Long-EZ build:

Well, an alternator is difficult to classify as belonging to ONLY the Electrical System (Chap 22) or the Engine (Chap 23), so I labeled it here as belonging to both categories.

I’ve  held off for quite some time in buying my alternator, which is B&C as well, simply because I didn’t feel I had identified the avionics and electrical components within the electrical system to the degree necessary to know what size alternator I would need.  B&C offers both a 40 Amp and a 60 Amp externally regulated alternator.  Of course an ever-present concern of mine is weight, and at the very aft end of the engine, the 2.4 pound difference (6.1 vs 8.5) between these two alternators clearly has a decent affect on the aircraft’s weight & balance at such a rearward arm.  With technology allowing me to have a lighter battery up front (15 pounds vs the traditional ‘old school’ 25 pounds), even with an extended nose I’m trying to keep the hind end of my bird light.  Especially considering I’ve dumped an O-320-sized engine back there when the Long-EZ was pretty much (Read: “specifically”) designed for the lighter O-235 engine.

Have I made my case?  Quite a bit of yammering over just 2-1/2 pounds, eh?!  Sure, weight is evil!  (I wonder if Burt would be proud of me right now .  .  . )

And so it is mis amigos, that I was comfortable enough in my electrical system load analysis at this point in time that I pulled the trigger on the B&C L40 40 Amp alternator below.  Also, as a data point, my main bus with all the components I have listed in my electrical system will have a steady current draw somewhere around 22 amps.  Not bad for a full up IFR glass panel with autopilot.

As per usual, here is a representative picture from the B&C website.

Well, I understand that I’ve pretty much gotten into the same mode that I was in Tampa, in that I’m merely laundry listing out all the components that I’m allocating for the build.  But trust me, I’d much rather be reporting on progress being made on the actual build.  Here in the near future, as I get closer to finalizing my electrical system, I will try to find a way to transfer it from CAD into maybe a PDF format to post on the site.

Being deployed for a year has given me quite a bit of time to hash & re-hash my component choices ad nauseum.  I’ve been able cross check my decisions, talk to some real gurus and hear & read arguments both for & against various parts & components.

My latest final decision was what electronic ignition system I was going to go with.  I’ve had reports from a number of friends & builders, and scoured the forums to finally come to my decision.  I also spent hours at each booth during SNF13 to figure this out.  In fact, before they closed their doors, I had spent a fair amount of time on the phone with the guys at Mattituck Engines discussing electronic ignition systems for experimental engines.  My final decision for my ignition system is an Electroair on one side paired with a Slick magneto on the other.

And although it may sound silly or incompatible to some, after a discussion with a few engine gurus I’m holding out the option (and will research) in the future to replace the Slick mag with a PMag.

In early September I went with a one-off type component: Rod Bower’s Ram Air System. Normally Rod works with the RV gang, but I spoke with him at length about using this on a Long-EZ, and I think this is the polished, albeit more sexy version of what James Redmon built (himself!) for his Berkut.  And since James’ Berkut is literally one of the nicest canards in the world, I gotta have something nicer than him!  Ha!

If I haven’t explained it previously, a Ram Air system is fairly straightforward in operation and does what it’s named: It simply takes an external, isolated source of air and rams it into the intake manifold via the fuel injector servo WITHOUT being filtered.  Yes, I did say it’s UNFILTERED AIR being RAMMED into the engine intake.

“Ok, is that smart?” you ask.  Of course not!  At least not on the ground!  Ahhh, so the beauty of Rod’s system is that you throw a lever (or a servo switch) and a butterfly valve closes off the outside air source.  The air, then, is brought in through the 4 reed valves on the side of the aluminum coffee-can sized housing that just so happens to have a K&N filter therewith inside.  Thus, on the ground, or close to it, the air is in fact filtered.  Bit once airborne, the valve is opened to let the ram air do its magic, ala Red Bull Racers, thereby providing anywhere from about 1–1.5 inch gain in manifold pressure.  Brilliant!

And here’s what it looks like:

And installed on a tractor setup:

Today I ordered a set of 4 ECi Tapered-finned Nickel+Carbide Cylinder Assemblies for my IOX-340S engine.  The set also includes 9.5:1 compression pistons.  Since I picked up the engine case, the crankshaft & camshaft a few weeks ago, I’ll start purchasing the accessories over the next year so that when I get back I can put this thing together with Tom Schwietz.

A nice thing about buying the cylinder assemblies as a set is that ECi ensures that all the cylinders are flow matched, making for a much smoother and efficient engine.

Here’s a representative pic for context.

Besides starting to pick up the main parts of the engine, in July I also started down that long road of picking up all the engine accessories as well.  There were a few components that I still wanted to do a fair amount more research on, to be sure I was getting what I felt was the best fit for my engine and airplane.  Of course I read a ton & made quite a few phone calls to some really smart folks.

One thing that I new for certain was that I was going with a B&C starter.  While B&C starters ARE NOT the lightest starter you can get out there (by a few pounds), from every bit of feedback I could garner these guys are bulletproof.  Thus, a B&C starter was the first engine accessory that I pulled the trigger on (example pic here).

I’m back in the States for a couple of weeks before I head over to the Sandbox.

Today I pulled the trigger on my Lycoming O-320 engine case along with an ECi IOX-340S strokered crankshaft, balanced connecting rods, and camshaft from Tom Schwietz at Aero Engines in Winchester, VA at Winchester Regional Airport (OKV).  I met Tom at his shop and talked with him at length on various engine options, the build, etc. and toured his shop.  Tom was incredibly knowledgeable and the facility was quite impressive.

However, since I apparently had a huge brain fart and failed to get a picture of my new engine components, I tried to find a good representative picture online but couldn’t find anything fitting.

Yesterday, I got to spend all afternoon/evening with my buddy Marco down in Virginia Beach and tour his build facilities as well (impressive garage my friend! ha!).  He showed me his Long-EZ project and of course we talked Ad nauseam.  I also dropped off my TIG Welder for him to try out, evaluate & use while I’m gone this next year.  If he likes it he’ll most likely use it build his rollover assembly.  It was great to visit with him and get some good Long-EZ shop talk in with my fellow Canardian.  Build on my friend!