Based on feedback on VAF I decided to try and make a couple of these in a more robust style and material. It's not wasted effort, because somebody also suggested I needed to install these on the l/h side to protect the fuel line and red cube area. I pulled up the RV14 plans and sure enough, on that plane they have a couple their standard aluminum heat shields on the exhaust tubes in that area. So, I made a trip to my local Metal Supermarket for some stainless. The only alloy they had in stock in thin 24 gauge was 301 soft, so thats what I ended up with. While I was there, I had then shear it into some 3x3" and 3x3.5" chunks, as well as a couple of 1/2" wide strips to make the attach straps. Today I fabricated these with two mounting straps on the wings rather than one in the middle. That was Dan Hortons suggestion. He also supplied quite a bit of data that indicated that teh finish held by aluminum over time would make it a better surface to reflect radiant heat away from the protected components, and that fiberfrax would be an added layer of defense. With that in mind, I coated the inside surface of the stainless with aluminum speed tape for it's surface reflectivity properties, and then added a layer of 1/16" fiberfrax to the outside and encapsulated it with a layer of speed tape on that side as well. I had already bagged and taped up my roll of fiberfrax when it occurred to me that it might be beneficial on the bare aluminum shields I had fabricated a few days ago. I had a piece about an inch wide left over and still available so I removed the aluminum shield under the engine and added a 1" wide strip down the center angle, which is the part closest to the throttle cable. As it stands now, I have a simple aluminum shield with one mounting tab on the r/h side by the data plate, a similar one with a partial fiberfrax layer by the throttle cable, and two new and improved steel ones on the l/h side with two mounting tabs, a shiny aluminum layer on the reflective side, and a full fiberfrax blanket on the outer surface. It will be really interesting to see how these perform over time. On a side note, I was deburring the stainless steel stock on a 3M abrasive wheel when the material caught and yanked out of my hand. I got a cut and a bruise on the side of my finger out of the deal. I know how sharp stainless can be. I should have been wearing leather gloves when working with it and/or holding it with pliers while against the grinding wheel. I've been working around machinery my whole life, stuff like this my whole life, you'd think I'd know better that that by now.