Engine Cowling

Time to install the engine cowling...  When building the Bearhawk, there are two sets of manuals.  The AviPro Aircraft "Builder's Assistance Manual" for the kit, and Eric Newton's "Bearhawk Builder's Manual" for scratch builders that was written in 2008.  Both manuals discuss the design and installation almost identically.  Eric Newton's scratch builders manual is a little more thorough on most everything, including the engine cowling.  But both are referenced for varying aspects.

Completed view of the engine cowling and nose bowl installation.

Engine Baffling and Plenum

After completing the baffling provided in the RV-10 Firewall Forward Kit, I installed the traditional Air Flow Fabric in order to seal the gap between engine cowling and the baffling.  Ultimately I was not happy with all the seams, gaps and crevices with the Air Flow Fabric.  Swiss cheese comes to mind.  Yes, 99% of piston GA engines use a flexible fabric to seal and cool the engine, but I was intrigued with a few carbon fiber plenums I encountered.  And considering IO-540's in tight Bearhawk engine cowlings are reported to run hot, I decided to take a stab at fabricating my own carbon fiber plenum.  

    The finished product...

Hanging the Engine

Previously I discussed some difficulty with the engine bracket and isolators.  Once resolved, the engine swung into place and was mounted in less than 20 minutes.  Whew!

Boot Cowl

I have two desired outcomes with the boot cowl.

1).  To have access to the back of the instrument panel from the inside top, after the windscreen is installed.  This will also allow the hinged panel to tilt rearward for greater access.

2).  To have access at the sides of the boot cowl for access to rudder pedals, fuel lines, brake lines, etc.