Science

The engine is a  200hp Lycoming LIO-360.  This is a fuel injected left hand engine. Sky Tec built a one of a kind light weight left hand starter, the only one in the world to accomidate the use of a high preformance exhaust system. Weldon Pump supplied the electronic fuel pump a B8120-J which is mounted at the bottom of the firewall as a primer pump and back-up.  Braded high pressure fuel and oils lines are all covered with firesleeves to proctect them from extreem heat. The engine is cooled by fresh air from the NACA scoops. Runners direct the air to the engine Plenum.  Skytronics supplied the mag harness  for the bendix Mags.

 Firewall Installation

Use poster paper to create a patter for the firewall. Place the paper against the fuselage flange at the top of the firewall. rub the paper where it touches the flange with the side of a pencile. This will leave a mark to cut. Tape this peice onto the fire wall. Repeat for the rest of the firewall till a pattern is made and inplace. Rub the areas on the paper where there are cut outs for NACA scoops, wireing housing and oil lines. Remove the pattern and trace the outline on the firewall stainless steel sheet. Cut the sheet with a ggod pair of scissors or tin snips. Wear gloves. Spray the firerwall and the sheet with adhesive let set for 1 minute then carefully set the sheet in place. Place rivets around the perimeter and seal the egde with a bead of silicone. This will keep it in place and prevent cuts.  

Engine Installation

Install the upper and lower engine cauling.  Find the center point. Measure from the floor to the center of the propeller hole. This can be determined by spliting the difference between the bottom and top of the hole and adding it to the height of the bottom of the cauling to the floor. Remove the cauling. Hoist the engine and slide it up till the engine mounts touch the firewall. Position the engine level  and center with all mounts touching the firewall.

Raise or lower it till the center of the crank is 3/8" above the center point. Make sure the engine fore and aft as well as side to side. Drill the top mounting hole with a 3/8" bit. Use the mount hole as a guide. Place the bit in the hole and drill through the firewall. Install the mounting bolt and tighten. Once again level from side to side by measuring from the floor to the cylinders. Drill the second hole and install the bolt.  Repeat till all 5 bolts are in place.

Paint the engine with high heat engine paint. Sand and paint the vale covers and the intake tubes. Install the 90 degree servo adapter and mount the servo. Attach the throttle and mixture cables and clamp the cables to the mounting brackets.

Fuel/Oil Lines

Drill a hole next to the oil line channel at the bottom of the firewall for the fuel line. Attach a bulkhead AN fitting to the line. Mount the Weldon Fuel pump to the firewall and attach the fuel filter to the inlet. Attach a fuel line from the bulkhead to the fuel filter.  Attach a high pressure braided fuel line from the electric fuel pump to the mechanical fuel pump. From the outlet of the mechanical fuel pump run an aluminum fuel line to the servo. From the servo run a high presure braided fuel line to the spider injector. 

Oil Lines

 Create the oil lines. Measure the lines. Wrap masking tape tighly around the hose so the meatal braid will not fray and cut through the line. Insert the fitting and slide the pressure nut in place. Tighten till the treads bottom out. Install the iol hoses at one end only. Install the flex fuel line to the electric fuel pump. Creat a 3" intake flange riveted to a base plate and mount to the servo.

All fuild flex hoses must be  protected by a fire sleeve. Cut sleeve to fit. Slide over hoses. Attach each end of the fire sleeve to the hose fitting with a hose clamp.

Engine Cooling

This is a pusher aircraft and the engine is mounted in the back. To cool it two large NACA Scoops are installed at the top back edge of the fuselage. From the scoops two runners are attached and direct air into the Plenums that cover the the upper engine.

Duct tape the top of the inner edge of the lower plenum. This is the plenum that has its inner edge covered by the upper plenum. Sand the top of the inner edge of the upper plenum. Install the plenums. Create a 1" flange from the top plenum to the lowere plenum with 3 bid fiberglass tape. Let cure. Drill 3/16" mounting holes through the flange into the lower plenum.  Separarte the plenums and mount nut plates to the lower plenum.

Install the plenums. Possition the runners from the firewall to the plenums. Mark an outline of the runner onto the plenums. Cut the line on the plenum to make a hole for the runners.  Duct tape the plenum. Place the runner against the plenum. Create a 1" flange on the runner with 2" fiberglass tape. Drill 3/16" mounting holes after cured. Cut the runners in half. This is done so that the runner is alowed to move with the engine while the the other half that is mounted to the firewall is not torn apart. Drill a 3" hole in the side of the right runner and mount the air intake fitting.

 Create a 1"  flange on the tip of the runner with 3 bid fiberglass tape to mount to the firewall. Install the plenums and runners. Make sure there is at least a 1/4" gap between the runner halves for engine movement.  Rivet a 2" wide strip of rubber duct seal on the lower runner that overlaps onto the upper runner. Mount the upper runner to the firewall with wood screws.

The second most difficult part to build was the engine cowling. Place the cowling on the firewall. Drill 3/16" holes through the fuselage flange for the attachment screws. Use cleocos to hlod in place. Trace the shape of the wing onto the cowling. Cutt the flange off the cowling cowling and glass the two pieces together. Draw a line from aft tip of the wing on the cowling up to the bottom of cowling opening. Cut the cowling on the line.

Duct tape the inside of the bottom half of the cowling on the cut. Create a flange on the inside of the upper cowling whwere the two havles meet. Sand the inside of the upper cowling. Lay up 4 bid 4" wide fiberglass from the top cowling to the duct tape on the bottom. Let cure. Drill attachment holes. Cleco the holes. Sand the cowling above and below the wing to the fiberglass. Place the fairing against the side of the cowling on top of the wing. Drill 1/8" rivet holes and cleco in place. Repeate for the bottom. Remove ands sand the fairings. Duct tape the top and bottom edges of the wing. Glass and rivet the fairing in place with micro-glass and 2 bid fiberglass. Drill the mounting holes through the fairing into the wing flange. Remove and cut the cowling out inside the fairing. Rivet the nut plates on the inside of the wing flange and cowling. Trim and sand to shape. Duct tape the the fairing edge. Spread a layer of thin frosting from the wing to the top of the fairing. Let cure and sand. This makes a perfect seam.  

The left aileron control arm hits the engine cowling. Cut a hole in the cowling to allow thw control arm full movement. Create a bubble for the hole. I used an easter egg as a pattern. Glass the inside of the egg with 2 bid. remove the bubble. Rivet and glass onto the cowling.

Mark the loacation of the exhaust pipe and cut out the hole 1" larger that the pipe for clearance. Holes need to be cut for the intake pipes. Create two bubbles for the intake holes. I used biking helmets as a pattern. They are tear shaped and the right size. Cover the helmets with duct tape. Glass with 3 bid. Rivet and glass in place. Fill and sand to shape.