~Cowling~
I have the new "Type S" cowl. It is a lighter, thinner, and supposedly easier to work with than the older, gelcoat cowl. This cowl goes on ok, but there still is quite a bit of cutting and fitting, and the surfaces don't match up. Also, there is MUCH more finish work to do, so I think it is about a wash on which cowl to use.
Here the hinges are rivet to the lower firewall. I plan on using Camlocs, but I will go with the hinges on the bottom. Notice the cleko clamps are valuble again.
Here the lower cowl is being fitted. This takes two sets of hands, and lots of patience. I orginally had planned to use Camlocs instead of hinges, but realized the cost and extra effort was not worth it. Not to mention, hinges are used on most RV's and hardly any problems reported. The newer type-s cowl fits pretty good. You still have to do some trimming and such, but with two people it is not that bad. The bottom portion took us about 6 hours to get everything to fit perfectly.
I originally was going to use Camlocs, but after I saw the cost and the additional R&D to t install them, I changed my mind. Here is a tip if you are installing the type-S cowl. Drill your hinges first and then mate the cowling up to the fuselage. Get a very bright halogen light and shine it from the inside as seen here. You then can drill through the cowl into the holes in the hinge. This eliminates the varible of the hinge not bringing the cowling to match the fuselage. Highly recommended procedure.
Here the upper hinge on the fiirewall is being fitted. Be sure not to trim the forward skin. These hinges are fitted the same way as above, using a light from the inside.
Hey, this thing is looking more like an airplane everyday. Although this looks like alot is done, there is much, much more to do on the cowl.
Here the scoop is being fiberglassed onto the cowl. The clecos hold it in place while the fiberglass cures.
Here is the inside of the scoop. There was a pretty hefty gap where the curves come together with the cowl, so I had to put a couple of layers of microballoons in and sand smooth. This makes for a continuous surface for the fiberglass cloth to lay over, and not have any air pockets.
I don't see what is so special about the new cowl. It looks like it has severe acne, if you look closely. There are little pits all over it. I have made a microballoon/epoxy resin solution to fill the holes...so much more to go..