It is always a good idea to bond the SS fire wall sheet metal directly to
the fiber glass and plywood part of the firewall.  This adds tremendous
strength and stiffness to the entire fire wall.  I designed a round a round
dirt track race car for a company that manufactured them years ago.  Thin
steel sheet on both sides of the plywood made the firewall literally bullet
proof.

I will upload pictures of the combined top MM and nose gear hard point
shortly that we used on a Kiss cruiser.

BTW the weight of the shock is 7.5 pounds. You might get 3 pounds out of it
by shortening it but I would not do that until it was complexity proven.

------------------------------____----------------------------__--
It was a bit difficult assembling it so I will change a dimension or
two to make it easier to assemble. You just need to add some carbon layers
in the top center of the firewall to the top part of the fuse below the
windshield. A half inch straight 4130 steel tube just inside the windshield
to the fire wall would add a bit of bird strike and roll over protection and
add strength to that entire area. The weight would be near nothing.


Paul Lamar

G'day Paul
I was reading kitplanes (Nov/Dec I think) regarding composite
firewalls. They pointed out that should you have an engine compartment
fire, a metal plate will conduct heat to the composite material and
melt it, so insulation behind the metal plate was essential to
maintain the integrity of the firewall in such an event and needs to
be designed into the setup. Just a thought, not sure if you had
considered this in your design .
 I like the Tango, great performance and range, so I'm following this
thread with interest.
 Thanks, Graeme Riley

Yes I am aware of that theory. It would work  to put the insulation on the outside of the metal. Commercial products
called "fire blankets" are sold for just that purpose.

Google "fire blankets". Dozens of products.

If you are still concerned double up on the outer SS sheet with the insulation
between them.

Paul Lamar

My kit was shipped with fibrefrax from the factory to go between the firewall and stainless steel backing on firewall.

Alex

That's OK. Is it installed yet?

Notice how straight these book shelves are with a big load of books.
This book case is five years old.
A galvanized steel sheet is bonded to the bottom of the shelves.

Paul Lamar


And this is just the 'light reading' that Paul keeps in the bathroom !

roger


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