I got tired of cleaning the belly on my Phoenix U15 motorglider, so I fabricated a "diverter tip" from a 180 degree bend tubing piece (1.5" OD tubing, 3" radius bend). The end has 8 slits cut in it, and a hose clamp holds it to the Phoenix pipe. After 100 hours of use, the belly remains clean, and I haven't had any problems with the tip coming loose or the exhaust pipe cracking.
A couple Phoenix owners like the clean belly part, but are concerned diverting the exhaust downward about 30-40 degrees from the pipe will cause the pipe to vibrate and sooner or later cause a crack in the exhaust pipe it's attached to. I've seen diverters like this on many cars, and there are tons of them for sale, but I can't find any technical info on how much force is being applied to the exhaust pipe because of the diversion.
Does anyone know if the diverter will cause problems, or know of Rotax engines using them, or any aircraft engine, for that matter?
A couple Phoenix owners like the clean belly part, but are concerned diverting the exhaust downward about 30-40 degrees from the pipe will cause the pipe to vibrate and sooner or later cause a crack in the exhaust pipe it's attached to. I've seen diverters like this on many cars, and there are tons of them for sale, but I can't find any technical info on how much force is being applied to the exhaust pipe because of the diversion.
Does anyone know if the diverter will cause problems, or know of Rotax engines using them, or any aircraft engine, for that matter?
exhaustdiverter.JPG (You do not have access to download this file.)
