Kitfox Aircraft Stick and Rudder Stein Air Grove Aircraft TCW Technologies Dynon Avionics AeroLED MGL Avionics Leading Edge Airfoils Desser EarthX Batteries Garmin G3X Touch
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13

Thread: Lower cowl going on

  1. #1
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Bailey, CO
    Posts
    225

    Default Lower cowl going on

    I am about to start working on the lower cowl. I have a whirlwind prop and put the 2” spacer on the prop flange. Does anyone have some pictures of your install and how you trimmed the cowl.

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Titusville, Florida
    Posts
    177

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    My story is here. You may find it useful.

  3. #3
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Bailey, CO
    Posts
    225

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    Thanks Tom, I will go look as soon as I finish this.

    That looks like great work. I think I will have similar problem with distortion of boot cowl, and now I have an answer for solving that if it happens.
    Very helpful. Thanks. Is that a Whirlwing prop?

    Steve
    Last edited by Flyboy66; 05-03-2019 at 07:08 AM.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    642

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    I’m at that stage right now. I’ll take some photos but all I did was put the extension on, centralise the cowls using clecos to hold the cowls tight and then traced around the perimeter of the extension. That gives me decent clearance all round to account for engine movement under load.
    David
    SS7 Builder

  5. #5
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2017
    Location
    Bailey, CO
    Posts
    225

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    David, if you have any photos, I would love to see them. I am going to go investigate my firewall/boot cowl first (going to get construction manual and see when it says to install the nutplates. I hope to put in the spinner plate and get the cowls taped into place and marked.

    There are “scribe lines” on the upper cowl and possible the lower cowl too. I only looked briefly before calling it a night. Am I supposed to trim the lines where the upper/lower cowl come together before starting this process? Also, it looks like the cuts (notching) on the front of the lower cowl have been done already. The edges are rough, but I am not sure if I need to remove more material.

    If I take a picture in my iPad, can I upload it directly, or does the file size need to be reduced? I am going to try to post picture if the front of lower cowl.

  6. #6
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    2,960

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    Tom, are you flying yet? Last I heard about a year ago you were ready.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

  7. #7

    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Titusville, Florida
    Posts
    177

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    Yes, I've been flying for over a year.

    To answer another question. Yes I have a whirlwind prop.

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Aug 2016
    Location
    Melbourne, Australia
    Posts
    642

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    Quote Originally Posted by Flyboy66 View Post
    David, if you have any photos, I would love to see them. I am going to go investigate my firewall/boot cowl first (going to get construction manual and see when it says to install the nutplates. I hope to put in the spinner plate and get the cowls taped into place and marked.

    There are “scribe lines” on the upper cowl and possible the lower cowl too. I only looked briefly before calling it a night. Am I supposed to trim the lines where the upper/lower cowl come together before starting this process? Also, it looks like the cuts (notching) on the front of the lower cowl have been done already. The edges are rough, but I am not sure if I need to remove more material.
    Unfortunately, I forgot to take any photos. My build is 150 miles away and I've just gotten home after a weekend of work on it. Sorry about that, but I can tell you what I did, if that helps ....

    Do as you say you're about to do; i.e. fit the boot cowl first and trim that IAW what the manual advises. When fitting the cowls, I started with the lower cowl and followed the manual exactly as described. In setting the position, I had the engine in and held the lower cowl central by attaching to a circular disk I'd attached to the engine ring gear (I have a Lycoming 0-233 engine - don't know the setup if you're fitting a Rotax). That disk was also used in order to get the correct length for the prop extension fitting. After everything was centralised and the cowl trimmed, I then drilled 1/8" holes and cleco'd in place (I held the lower cowl in place with clamps up to this point).

    When it came to fitting the upper cowl, I trimmed to the scribe lines along both sides, thinking all would be good. BIG mistake. What I should have done (and subsequently did after fixing my stuff up) was place the upper cowl in position, centralised with the lower cowl at the ring gear location, THEN trimmed the upper cowl. That would have prevented me from having to get handy with some fibreglass and put back what I'd trimmed off !. So strong advise, DON'T trim to the scribe lines unless you're sure they represent trim lines for your build. Once it's fitting up well, drill off and cleco in place. Then you can start drilling off for the camlocs.

    This where I'm at right now and it's how I did it, so hope this helps. Others may have done things differently, but this worked out well (eventually) for me.
    David
    SS7 Builder

  9. #9
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2017
    Location
    Mapleton,UT
    Posts
    1,224

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    Yeah don’t trim to scribe lines or you will be way off. I am also at this point. Use masking tape to get a perfect fit. Lay a piece of tape up to the edge that you want to have the top cowl mate to on the lower cowl. Place top cowl on and then match edges of masking tape. Then you now have a trim line that will match. Depending on how off it is you may need to trim to get it within the thickness of the tape so you can see the edge. I have some photos on my build log that may explain better.
    Dustin Dickerson

    Building 7ss STI x 2
    Oratex
    29" shock monster
    EP912STI 155hp
    Garmin
    N33TF......FLYING!
    N53TF......FLYING!

  10. #10
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Portland, OR
    Posts
    2,960

    Default Re: Lower cowl going on

    You don't have too much choice on where to trim the top edge of the lower cowl where the joggle is; you can't trim away too much of the joggle.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •