8-1-2021

As I continue to "fine-tune" the installation of the engine baffles, I have also continued working on the engine cooling aspect. I had already decided to tackle this cooling issue starting at the nose of the aircraft and working backwards from there. 

With the inlet air opening now at an appropriate size for the IO-540, I conducted some simple flow tests using string and a leaf blower to see how the air entering the engine flows after it passes through the inlet opening. I found that by adding a cover over the first few inches behind the nose cowl to create a tunnel, the airflow was smooth and steady. This experiment convinced me to fabricate a tunnel for each inlet area.

After these were completed, I needed to seal off the area in front of the baffles (fly wheel area) so I created some baffling which runs across from side to side and is mounted to the new tunnels as well as the existing baffling. 

These additions will completely seal off the high pressure area on top of the engine preventing loss of air pressure into the flywheel area of the engine.