26/12/2024 - Vetterman exhaust arrived - 0h

A little Christmas present arrived at my door today.

The Vetterman side-by-side Exhaust system.

I ordered this back in September and it took a while, but finally it's here and ready to be used. All we need now is the engine. 
I had some calls with Clint from Vetterman. He is hard to get a hold of as he's a very busy man but once you get him on the phone he is all help and idea's.

Choosing the right exhaust system was a long process full of doubts and questions.
I finally opted for the side-by-side pipes instead of a standard crossover system.
Reason being that I have a Superior engine with a cold air sump and the Sam James Cowl.

Additionally, you have to keep in mind that in Belgium and most countries in Europe, noise abbatement is a very important issue.

An RV7 falls into the aerobatic category and these planes fall in the category where a noise certificate is not legally required.
But then, how good is this advantage as soon you won't have anymore small airports where you are allowed to visit. Additionally you always pay the highest landing fees because of the noise tax.
This made me decide that I do want the mufflers so that at least noise gets reduced to a minimum. The 3 blade Catto wood prop will also add a little noise reduction over a standard 2 blade aluminum propellor.

A cross over is not possible with mufflers on my engine and cowl. It just doesn't fit due to the sump.
I then visited a meeting at Breda Seppe airport of the NVAV folks and Joop St Jago was so kind to show and explain his configuration in details.
He also has the Sam James cowl and a Superior engine and he did have an exhaust system from Vetterman installed with mufflers.
The solution is in the side by side exhaust. 
I called Clint from Vetterman again and he told me that even the side by side with muffler would not fit the Sam James cowling.

That's true, but Joop showed me how he solved that on his RV7. He cut two rectangles out of the bottom cowl and made some custom extensions that allow the mufflers to be installed. Once painted, they are hardly visible and the side by side configuration makes also for a nice setup.

see also: https://www.vettermanexhaust.org/gallery
and : https://cdn.vansairforce.net/vetterman/vettermanexhaust.htm

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