FWF: Spinner & Propeller. Spinner mounted.

I found the spinner a bit challenging in areas, which I will expound upon in this post.

Removing the gap fillers was relatively benign.

Next was to verify that the backplate had no dishing beyond 0.04".

Epoxy is wiped onto the flange contact areas (left) so that the line on the S-602-1 Spinner Plate is visible to permit "blind" drilling through the S-601-1 Spinner.  Turns out that even with this glossy layer of epoxy painted in, it's really difficult to see the line on the backplate flange (right) through the spinner.

Although not called for in the plans, I deemed it prudent to verify if the spinner would spin true prior to match drilling, using the tried and true method (left) of a sharp marker affixed to a ladder with the former's tip placed on the center of the spinner.  Then the prop is rotated 360°.  The dot looked good (right) so no adjustments were made.  This is another indicator of the quality of the kit.

Next the Spinner is match drilled into the S-603 Front Spinner Bulkhead (not shown) and to the Spinner Plate (left).  Turns out that I had a hard time keeping the holes on center and even accidentally drilled #19 the holes for the S-606A Gap Fillers (right) - they are supposed to be #40.  The latter error caused me to have to replace the entire backplate ($85.43, shipped), necessitating later removal of the prop for the second time (the first being here).  Plus, I had to fill in all the holes in the Spinner and Gap Fillers with epoxy-flox.

So, on my replacement spinner backplate, I decided not to follow plans.  On advice of an RV-9A builder, I instead drilled the required holes into the Spinner Plate's flange prior to placing the spinner.  This ensured they were all well centered on the flange.  Then I used an angle drill and match-drilled the holes into the Spinner and the Gap Fillers.  I believe this is a superior methodology.  Also, I did not upsize the screw holes to #19 just yet, because it's easier to place and remove the spinner for fitting (verifying blade pitch and aligning aft edge) a multitude of times with clecos (shows further below). 

It's worth nothing that Van's demonstrator, N214VA, has poorly aligned holes on their Gap Fillers.  You can see this when you view the turntable.  They may not have followed the technique I outlined above.

Note how the old holes (filled in with epoxy-flox, in pink) line up with the new ones.

Gap Fillers with their S-606C Backing Plates.  I had one slightly misaligned hole on the Gap Filler shown on the right (second from bottom hole).

Next I needed to trim the aft edge of the Spinner to be flush with the Spinner Plate.  First, I traced a line to indicate the forward boundary of the necessary cut (top).  I then used my Dremel to cut right up against that line (right).  Then I used 40-grit sandpaper on a sanding block to bring it flush (bottom).

Next it was on to verifying that the blades have the requisite 1/8" clearance when they travel through their full pitch, stop-to-stop.  Below shows the two boards I clamped for that purpose.  The towel is to prevent marring the blade.

Finally, the holes were upsized to #19 and the nutplates were attached.

All done!

FWF: Exhaust System. Exhaust placed.

It turns out that the EX-00006 Tailpipe System (the center exhaust pipe under the tunnel) absolutely cannot be fit into place with the nosegear leg in place.  I tried for an hour trying to convince myself otherwise.  Instead, it requires using the engine hoist to raise the airframe an inch or so off its nose wheel.  Let's call this a "negative G maneuver".

After lifting the airframe off the nosewheel, the U-01416 Nose Gear Link Assembly must be released so that it can be swung forward.

Only then can the EX-00006 Tailpipe System be placed.

This shows the F-01469 Tailpipe Hangar Links attached.  Those links should probably have been primed.

Finally, all exhaust parts are installed on both sides of the engine. 

FWF: Cowl Baffle. Cowl baffle seals placed.

This was an easy task.  Nothing exciting to report here.  Just placement and riveting.  I have not yet applied RTV to seal gaps or to secure the magneto blast tubes.  I'm waiting to finish all work on the cowl halves.

FWF: Cowl Baffle. Snorkel completed.

The VA-132-2 Snorkel actually takes a significant amount of work to complete.

First, the cap for the fuel injector is removed (left) then the fuel injector is mounted (right).

The Snorkel is man-handled into place and clamped down.

Then the outline of the fuel injector's flange is traced onto the Snorkel's flange to ensure it is centered.  Then, using a template provided in the kit, the round flange is cut into the square shape necessary to fit the injector servo.  The picture below shows how well the pieces were centered and the good, clean trimming of the flage.

Next the top of the Snorkel is cut to length (not shown) and match drilled into the CB-00020 Air Filter Frame.

Then the two pieces are properly adhered to each other with an epoxy-flox mixture.

Next a 2.75" diameter hole needs to be cut into the left side of the Snorkel to accommodate the alternate air input system via the V-192A Alternate Air Inlet.  I used a hole saw with very light pressure (left) and obtained great results.

Here is the crimp on the Alternate Air Inlet showing the fit of the VA-192B Filter Bypass Door.

The Alternate Air Inlet is properly epoxy-floxed into place.

A gasket is necessary to seal (left) to seal the Snorkel to the fuel injector (right).  I replaced the one that was installed on the crated engine. That part number is 77504 and is available from Aircraft Spruce.  The gasket was lubricated with oil, the Snorkel installed and the bolts were later safety-wired.

Next the CB-00034 Right Air Ramp Cone must be bent into shape.  First the template is adhered to the aluminum piece (top left) then it is slowly bent into the cone shape (top right, bottom left) until the piece conforms properly (bottom right).

The cone is then match drilled into the CB-00007 Right Air Ramp (left) and riveted into place (right).  I will probably later remove the rivets around the Vent DL-03 and Vent Screen 3x3 and replace with news that have their manufactured heads on top.

A similar exercise is done on the right, yielding a properly fitting CB-00020 Air Filter Frame.

Here is how the alternate air inlet is ultimately situated prior to attaching the cable.

FWF: Cowl Baffle. Baffles placed.

I completed assembling the baffle parts in April 2016, as I sought to get ahead of future work.  It turns out that I was 10 months ahead of myself, as once I finished assembling them, I set them aside until February 2017 to attach them to the engine.

The baffling was quite straightforward to complete.  Sometimes I needed to get creative with a makeshift "jig" to rivet the pieces together (images from April 2016).

A couple of images showing the aft baffles in their completed states.  As is obvious, I decided to prime the parts simply because I've been priming everything.  The color matches "Lycoming Gray" pretty well too.

The CB-000333 Air Filter Frame Cover is cut, drilled and nutplates are attached.

Moving on to February 2017, I masked off the areas needing RTV.  The primer was then removed and the metal scuffed to give the RTV something to bite on to.  This is the left aft baffle.

This is the left aft baffle.  Note, I neglected to add the strip of RTV on the right side, which I later added.  I realized later that the RTV is intended to prevent chaffing, so it's better to let the RTV cure after application prior to attaching the baffling to the engine.

Here are the forward baffles with the RTV.

Generally, the baffles fit well.  The left aft baffle took a few hours for me to finagle.  I had to bend a tab to get it to fit (it's the tab just under the left nutplate).  The left forward baffle took a lot of on-and-off fitting.  I had to file down the tab shown below by quite a bit.

On page 47-07, the little standoff highlighted in red is left up to us to fabricate.  Mine measured 1.031" for a perfect fit.  Go here to see how I made sure that the cut surfaces were perpendicular to the axis of the spacer.

Here are the baffles in place.

Next major step to complete is the snorkel.