Not to sure about these air filters..... what is your experence with them?

[Paul Taylor]

So as I removed hardware from the TwistStang I got a good look at the air filter. I then removed it from the rubber case and saw this.

As it has been coming apart wonder where it has all gone?

Guess I need to change them more often???

[Charlie Pate]

The Only thing they are good for (mainly) is to make your engine ,no matter what brand, last longer;much longer.
This is NOT an opinion(theory) but a proven fact. If your disagree, just remove the one from your car and
drive it in dusty conditions for a short while.
Let me put it this way; Randy Smith and Richard Oliver both reccommend them highly.NASCAR   cup cars   use air filters.
Personally, I only run them on engines I wish to keep.
While they may rob you of a small bit of power (which can be overcome) the pluses far outweigh the minuses.
 The one you have shown appears to be a Bru Line coarse mesh; the fine mesh ones are green.
 Yours appears to be a little like Jimmy Lynch "OLD".
 The oil and fuel eventually cause the mesh to deteriorate. I have seen them get so bad in power mowers that
 the entire element has been sucked into the engine and ground up.
 So, yes they need to be replaced at the first sign of deterioration . I believe once a season would get you thru
 easily , maybe longer.

[Randy Powell]

I'm kinda going with the panty hose and "O" ring option, myself. But I have used Bruline filters in the past.

[Andrew Hathaway]

When the weather cleared up last spring I started noticing one of my engines was significantly down on power.  Eventually I pulled the filter and suddenly all the power was back.  Shortly after I noticed that castor had set up on the bottom side of the filter and was choking the intake.  A new element cleared it up and the power was back to normal.  They're like everything else, they should be checked on a regular basis. 

[Jim Treace]

I'm kinda going with the panty hose and "O" ring option, myself.

I like the "O" ring and panty hose, too. Easy to apply, can be doubled to restrict air flow, if necessary and actually act as a bit of protector if you engine happens to meet the dirt (the Bruline would do this too).
No dirt got into my intake.
Jim

ps: this is the last picture of my crashed Tutor II I will show!

[Paul Taylor]

Hey Jim,
Maybe after you get the mud off you can show me how you make that filter?

[Jim Treace]

Hey Paul,
I'll do better than that, I'll give it to you! The mud is free!
Jim

[Brett Buck]

So as I removed hardware from the TwistStang I got a good look at the air filter. I then removed it from the rubber case and saw this.

As it has been coming apart wonder where it has all gone?

Guess I need to change them more often???

   Well, that's pretty dirty. I would clean mine in either SIG Airplane Cleaner (the stinky solvent kind, not the water-based product) or IPA about once a year. Put it in an old 35 mm film can, pour in about 1/4" of cleaning fluid, and shake the heck out of it. That will get it clean.

   I used those pretty religiously for quite a while. The only time I ever had a problem was (predictably) at the 1997 NATs. The element broke away from the plastic ring for about half the circumference, on a qualifying flight, and the engine went slightly lean. Fortunately it was near the peak anyway, so it had only a minor effect.

     The only issue is fitting in the cowl. When I went to the RO-Jett, the "trumpet" intake didn't give me enough clearance, so I switched to the panty-hose and o-ring. It probably doesn't filter as well, but it takes up almost no space. Either style does a  decent job of acting like a diffuser, or so it would seem.

    You can use any of these to make slight venturi tweaks. The "coarse" gray filter, or about two layers of pantyhose, is about like subtracting about  a half AWG # drill size, and the "fine" tan/amber filter like you show, or about 4 layers of pantyhose, is about a full AWG # drill size.

    I use the Bru-line filter on the Skyray, as it keeps the dirt from the inevitable crashes out of the engine. It works well for that even without the element - the rubber part bends over the intake when it enters the ground and covers it up. Other than that I would be surprised if it did much unless you are taking off in a very gritty/dusty area.

    Brett

[Howard Rush]

Pantyhose is bad enough.  I don't want to think about what you guys do with the O ring. 

[Randy Powell]

Same as you, Howard, but we have to use bigger ones. 

[Paul Taylor]

Same as you, Howard, but we have to use bigger ones. 

LMAO