cowling assembly

[vixenrookie]

in the instruction its not very clear how to secure both halves together, im not reading anything here that explains how to assemble. maybe im just over looking something. big reason i ask is i am concerned on how much vibration is the nose of the cowl since there is no brackets attaching to the motor. if there was i think the vibration wound tear the rear cowl hardware. or at least make the hole enlarged over time. any suggestion would be appreciated.

[Geowitz]

The bottom half is attached to the fuselage with 5 cam locks on each side. The top half is attached only to the bottom half along the flange/joggle joint with cam locks at about a 5 inch spacing. A good fit at the windshield will add support as well, but basically the top cowling is only attached to the bottom half.

[MotReklaw]

Hi,
What engine are you installing? I think the Continental/Lycoming cowling is different and attaches differently.


in the instruction its not very clear how to secure both halves together, im not reading anything here that explains how to assemble. maybe im just over looking something. big reason i ask is i am concerned on how much vibration is the nose of the cowl since there is no brackets attaching to the motor. if there was i think the vibration wound tear the rear cowl hardware. or at least make the hole enlarged over time. any suggestion would be appreciated.

[Dave S]

Hi Tommy,

Traditionally, engine cowlings are fastened to an aircraft at the firewall to avoid twisting and damage to the cowling which would be an issue if the cowling were secured at both the firewall and front of the engine due to the considerable flexing in the engine mount with power setting changes, startup and shutdown. There are a few unique machines out there; but, generally not.

Some of the old radial engines have the front ring over the cylinders attached to the front of the engine; but, then it is not attached to the firewall - on startup - such as on a DC 6 or DC 7 - the front ring will shake with the engine on startup while the rear cowl sits still as it is fastened to the firewall.

Fastening the cowl to both the rear at the firewall and to the front of the engine would be very destructive on the cowl.

If you are following the instruction manual for your specific FFW, you are going to be fine.:)

Sincerely,

Dave

[vixenrookie]

i have the e81 subaru motor, i think i maybe over engineering this thing thinking it will fly off and hit in the face. the top of cowl is only supported by the bottom ? was there any matrial added like a strip of aliminum to give the cam locks something solid to attach too??

[HighWing]

Not to worry. Lots of history with this mounting system. Have a couple of friends with 1500 hrs on their Kitfoxes with no issues there. I had 900 on mine. I agree that it seems a bit weak, but then my High $$ ELT came with four 4-40 screws to mount it agains becoming a missile during a hard landing or worse. There used to be several engineers on staff during the formative years of Kitfox. Experience has proven that they did their jobs pretty well.
Lowell

[vixenrookie]

thats to funny, i work with engineers all day testing there product. maybe thats why im not trusting the way this is attached. usally instruction are written my engineers and have been thought to be tested. i have not seen and failures from anyone. guess i just had get a clear heading on this setup. thanks everyone.