Menu Sign In Contact FAQ
Banner
Welcome to our forums

Looking for fabric-type baffle material - Socata TB20

I have re-done my baffles with this stuff and it works great but in certain places it isn't ideal and is too stiff, and I need something quite soft, like the original Socata material

I am sure this can be bought from Socata, but is there an easy source for it? I need a strip about 50mm wide.

It's basically cloth soaked in some kind of silicone.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

How about this one ?

EDxx, Germany

I suspect that is the fairly standard material which is almost solid silicone and is very stiff.

The TB20 has a slightly tricky arrangement whereby a stiff material is needed on the upper baffles, in order to seal against the upper cowling. This worked great

http://peter-ftp.co.uk/screenshots/2017-07-14_160619.jpg

but the lower ones need a softer material which "flops down" and rests against the sides of the lower cowling.

I used the upper-cowling material on the lower cowling but it's too stiff and transmits a lot of vibration to the airframe.

This pic shows the more typical solution which uses the "heavy silicone" material

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

In the hangar next to my plane they are fitting a freshly overhauled engine into a Jodel Musketeer. That engine has got new baffles and they look like the mentioned heavy silikon type ... but they are very "floppy". I am thinking myself of replacing the baffles of my TB20 engine (year 1997).

Overhaul of the Musketeer engine O-360 was done by a company called Nikolaus Ghönert GmbH in Bad Wörrishofen /Bavaria.

EDxx, Germany

I think the heavy silicone material will be fine if it is "floppy".

Edit: this stuff is probably the best thing for the lower baffles... the delivery cost will be interesting.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I made a short video of the floppy new baffles I mentioned, see



EDxx, Germany

That stuff does look very floppy!

Actually I have just today received the stuff made by Browns Aircraft in the USA. They will ship direct but the delivery charge is significant so I got it from LAS Aerospace who are an agent for Aircraft Spruce. A crazy way to buy the stuff, and I would prefer to support the original supplier since they probably sell it to Spruce for next to nothing, but that's life...

It is very good, floppy, and actually very similar to the original Socata baffle seal material but is better quality.

This stuff is NOT suitable for the upper baffle seals. It is too floppy and would need considerable support. Socata use the little leaf springs which corrode and don't work properly anyway after a year or two. So the Macfarlane product is still the best for that.

I will try to upload from my phone to Youtube (hey, have to try new things every once in a while )...

Here:



Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I am going to get this stuff fitted when I next have access to a private hangar - probably during the next 50hr check which will be combined with some avionics work.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I have today finally re-done my baffle seals.

I know this is a really exciting topic, so it would not be right to leave out the pictures

Note that I have used the MacFarlane teflon-coated stuff on the top baffle seals, and the Browns "floppy" material on the lower baffle seals.

That gives a good seal on top, which is hard to achieve because the Socata fabric stuff did not like staying up against the upper cowling. And it is easy to achieve a seal on the bottom, because both gravity and air pressure work in your favour, and not transmitting engine vibration is the other top priority. The MacFarlane material works well only if the angle between it and the cowling is very small e.g. under 10 degrees. More than that, and its edge just digs into the cowling material so the benefit of the teflon coating is lost.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Peter, I am planning to replace my top baffle material. Sides are still fine. After three years, can you still recommend the Teflon baffle material, you used for the top cowling?
How many hours of labor do you estimate for replacing only the top baffle?

What is the consensus for the best baffle material for top cowling seal?

In this post, I see recommendation for McFarlane Cowl Saver Baffle Seal Material and “heavy silicone” (manufacture not specified).

Thank you!

Last Edited by Lucius at 14 Jun 14:37
United States
19 Posts
Sign in to add your message

Back to Top