The International Cessna 170 Association

Plane looks really nice! Who is the local IA at Decatur these days?

Steve. Don't know his last name. But a nice guy.

Plane is at Bridgeport.

Jim
Good meeting you today, and glad you were there for the homecoming. Paul

It was nice meeting you and Richard. I'm glad I was at the airport for the home coming. Your airplane is beautiful and sets a pretty high standard for the only other 170 on the field.
When you have time I would like a little more info on your A pillar lights.
Jim

Don't usually slam vendors. But not happy with Airforms baffle reseal kit at all. To start with it's an open P that's just rubber / silicone. My original p seal has foam inside and the material is reinforced. My original baffle seal is installed with staples. That is not an option with the new seal, it's not reinforced so will tear easily at each wire/staple location. They included 73 rivets and 73 washers with no information/instructions on proper install or spacing between rivets.

I can't use this stuff. Will take A&P three times as long to install.

I did call. And they did offer a refund when it's received back in there hands. It cost $27 to ship it to me. Probably another $27 to ship it back. So I will have wasted $54 and two weeks messing around with them.

Front of their catalog says "Save Time & Money". Not with their baffle reseal kit.

FYI they sent 11 foot of 3/4" p seal. I'm going to look into Browns Aircraft Supply. Good news. They had what I needed and even gave me FBO pricing to offset the cost of overnight shipping.

You can get the "tadpole" baffle material from Brown Aircraft: http://www.skygeek.com/brown-aircraft-s ... t-9ft.html

My seals were replaced at least once before I got the plane using sheet metal screws and washers. It seems to hold up reasonably well. When I put new seals in I looked into staples for originality and it seemed like the only option that might work would be a pneumatic stapler. Even that seemed iffy, so I just stuck with the screws.

FYI the original was black impregnated canvas with felt in side. Stapled as you mentioned. I'm in the process of installing the original back on to repaired pressure cowling. I'm using safety wire through the staple holes.

No one reinstalls staples. Who has that machine?

Very common to use rivets and washers on that material and for that fact to reinstall any seal material today. I'm surprised they didn't give you an idea of spacing after all, all they would have to do is look at the pressure cowl they seal and tell you what spacing they use on it.

Here is a thread showing how it has been done to give you an idea of spacing.

The Brown (and other suppliers have similar) baffle VS-6491 Engine Cowling Seal 9 Ft Package Retail Price: $73.71, is about as close as you will get to the original. Fact is if you pulled out the red rubber foam and installed a bar of 3/4"x 1/4" felt you'd have nearly the identical seal the factory installed. https://www.brownaircraft.com/category-s/73.htm

brianm wrote:You can get the "tadpole" baffle material from Brown Aircraft: http://www.skygeek.com/brown-aircraft-s ... t-9ft.html

My seals were replaced at least once before I got the plane using sheet metal screws and washers. It seems to hold up reasonably well. When I put new seals in I looked into staples for originality and it seemed like the only option that might work would be a pneumatic stapler. Even that seemed iffy, so I just stuck with the screws.

Wag-Aero has cowl seal that is close to the original. Just pull up the catalog and look at the seals. I think it is about 50 bucks for a 9 foot piece. Used this several years ago and has held up well

At one time in history I replaced the original style with a flat rubber/fabric composite material. I made replacement staples out of the support wire out of old SCAT hose. A bit tedious to install, but it worked well. At my overhaul in 2006 I installed a a complete new baffle kit from what is now Airforms, with preinstalled flat silicone rubber seals installed with washers and pulled rivets. Not original, but I've done several long climbs from 100F+ surface temps in the Southwest with NO cooling issues.

If I had the new type of baffle (pressure cowling)? the normal flat baffle seal would work great. However mine is an A model and uses the old type of baffle, (pressure baffle)? I'm not sure what it's called.

Jim-
Mine is a 1951 A model with the air box cowl. I used flat baffle seal on mine and it works very well.

Yep that looks like it would work really good. Thanks for the picture.

Well yesterday was a good day. Annual inspection was completed and everything is signed off.

Yahooooo.

Now looking for an instructor with 170 time to qualify for insurance pilot minimums.

Annual is done.
Transponder check is done.
New Weight & Balance is done. It's weighs 1314 including 8 quarts of oil and 30 pounds of unusable fuel.

Project is complete and ready to fly. It's been a lot of fun and challenging at times. But it's more challenging to find a local instructor with 170 experience to meet insurance requirements. It's very disappointing to see the airplane I've been busy getting finished sitting still.
I'm ready to burn some AV gas.

I have been surprised by a few things along this trip. First is how quickly the FAA sent my documents to me, how quick they sent the cd with history, that continental was so helpful with engine information, how fast Cessna sent me original copies of weight & balance, original equipment list, original sales/build sheet, and an additional copy of the original airworthiness. I literally received the information in less than 24 hours.

I know I'm preaching to the choir on this. But the vast information contained with in this forum group is astonishing. I couldn't have pulled off this project nearly as easily as I did with out this group. So to all who have posted in the past THANK YOU!

I know what you mean about this forum. I've tremendously benefitted from the collective knowledge of this group in the few years I've been a member.

I also know what you mean about finding an instructor with 170 experience. You might try to find a tailwheel instructor with a ton of tailwheel time in general and contact your insurance company in advance with his/her credentials and tailwheel time and see if they will approve him/her. That's what I did. When I bought my 170 a few years ago, the tailwheel instructor I wanted to use didn't have any 170 time (that he could remember) but had something like 14k total hours of which 10k was tailwheel in Cubs, Champs, Citabria, C-180's, L-19's and Stearmans. He also owned a cub, a Citabria and a Stearman. My insurance carrier didn't have the slightest problem adding him to my policy as my insurance time instructor even though he couldn't document any 170 time. The key is to discuss it with your insurance carrier/broker and get their approval in advance.