RamAir Scoop System For
the FL-350
By Ramjet
it worth the trip? 
A fundamental problem with the FL-350 is its performance suffers simply because the engine starves for air. That small 2" hose just can't feed enough air to the engine, so you don't really get top performance out of your 350.

My task was to figure out how to jam more air into the 350 engine and what did I have laying around the shop to modify my current air box to double the flow of air into the carburetor. I had three design parameters to work with.

One: It had to work.
Two: It had to look slick.
Three: It had to be cheap to create.

This isn't a real air-filter set up on the Pilot. It's just me having fun with photo editing.

Many creative ideas have been presented to solve this problem, and the majority of efforts are aimed at an additional filtering system. I decided, whether right or wrong, that my goal was to get air to the engine. Filtering would be handled by the current air box. If I started putting filters along the airflow path, I felt that I would defeat the purpose of getting as much air as I could to the engine. I believe the current filter system with an additional filter sock would satisfy me.

The FL-350 has a pretty large airbox above your head. The first thing I did was take the small scoop from the left side of the box and discarded it. I took measurements of the raw opening and got a piece of black plastic from and old sign project I did. This plastic can be heated and formed to a shape.

I made a mold from a piece of oak that was the same size as the hole I wanted to cover. Heating the material with a heat gun so it was pliable, and wearing a pair of smooth leather gloves, I formed the plastic around the block of wood.

Next, I drilled three holes into the front of the airbox with a keyhole saw on a cordless DeWalt. These holes face forward and point into the wind stream. I cut some stainless window screening to cover all three holes; painted it semi-gloss black, and glued it in place from the inside of the air box with 3M rubber weatherstrip cement. The screening would keep leaves, stone and small furry rodents out of the lower filter box.

I also thought that if needed, the box could snapped apart and a small foam filter could be inserted into the RamAir Scoop.

The next task was making the duct fitting for the upper hose to attach

A standard pipe fitting from your local Home Depot in jet black is just about right for the airbox. It's a bit too wide and needs to be sanded to the proper diameter.

My antique belt sander serves me well over the many years. I don't have the heart to toss it. The gray area you see on the fitting is where the duct hose connects. The threaded area screws to the formed base plate I made that attaches to the RamAir Scoop.