Brief Description: Pipes are in and holes are huge
When most of your day is spent running around town getting supplies it really robs a lot of workshop time. But heck, it's not optional :) Today, I ran over to a local guy who Tig welded 3 of my exhaust pipes and when I arrived I was blown away at his workmanship. This dude was a rough biker looking guy who came straight out of L.A. Even his shop dog was a Doberman! And here's the cool part, welding is his second profession and painting is his first. I cannot describe the quality and detail that go into his paint jobs. I'm thinking this might be the guy who sprays my bird! His name is Anthony McCarley and I highly recommend him. I got home and installed the pipes first thing. I then got into this painful rhythm of holding up the cowl to mark pipe holes to then pull it off to clear the glass. Back and forth a hundred times and I still ended up with oversized holes. I then had a better Idea then just leaving these gaping holes. Instead, I will slip a silicone tube over the pipes and then layup 4 plies BID over the silicone creating a "matched" tunnel that each pipe will slide into. This drastically reduces the drag and can easily be airfoiled to help even more. As soon as this exhaust configuration is test flown and shown to work well, the pipes will then be sent off to be ceramic coated. :) I'm getting anxious to fire her up again. Next up is finishing both cowls and balancing the prop. Let's go!
