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Thread: First, Build a Shed

  1. #401
    Senior Member Cherrybark's Avatar
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    I don't know why but I've been dreading this cowling work like a trip to the dentist with a toothache. Now that the job is started, it's clearly not going to be overwhelming - just repetitively fitting until things are right.

    After the front tabs were cut out the glass was pretty thin, so I put on a few layers of roving for strength. Then I could file and sand away some of the material so the two cowling pieces would mate, at least roughly. This afternoon my wife helped me mount the lower cowling and sit the upper piece in place. I don't know if "whompyjawed" is just a regional expression but it perfectly describes the way the pieces fit on this first attempt. This was more of an exercise to learn how to go about fitting, and we did learn a few obvious things. For instance, when you center the prop hub in the cowling hole there is more to consider than the side to side gap. As mounted, the bottom cowling rubs on the hub. Also the lower cowling isn't sitting symmetrically, it's twisted slightly clockwise when looking from the front. Then there is the poor mating the the two pieces. Still, I count today's work as a big success simply because this job is finally underway. I'm sitting in the dentist chair, the nose piece is feeding nitrous, and "Hey, this isn't so bad."

    First thing to do is to make the front of the pieces fit better. Also, I'm thinking of using ratchet straps rather than tape. It will be much easier to adjust the pieces as we work on the puzzle.
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    Carl Strange
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    SS7, 912iS, Oratex, G3X

  2. #402
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    Hey Carl. Don't rule out the strapping tape that the manual suggests. That is the clear packaging tape that has threads running through it. Sorry, I had to research the stuff myself when I was building. Don't mean to insult anyone. Anyhow, that tape sticks well and it doesn't really stretch at all. Put enough of it on and you won't budge it if you slugged the cowling in the chin. I fear something that could slip as would straps, You may have less fun than when the cowl cant move.
    Eddie Forward
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    SS7, 912iS, Garmin G3X

  3. #403
    Senior Member Cherrybark's Avatar
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    Thanks Eddie. I wasn't quite sure what specific tape that was but I know it now that you've explained.
    Carl Strange
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    SS7, 912iS, Oratex, G3X

  4. #404
    Senior Member Cherrybark's Avatar
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    The original "prop hub" circle was a mess and no amount of filling and filing was going to make it pretty. So a foam board template was cut that was wide enough to clean up the ragged edges, a circle drawn, and a Dremel with cut-off wheel quickly made a nice clean hole. After a couple of failed attempts to hold the lower cowling in just the right spot - eyeballing the prop hub clearance while my wife taped, it occurred to us that the foam board template could serve as a position locator if we cut a doughnut hole and slipped it around the prop hub. That locator, and the 7/8" sticks taped to the hub, made it a snap to position the lower cowling. That done, the upper cowling slipped neatly into place. Say, that wasn't so bad...

    Note, with all of the excellent ideas posted on the forum, I wouldn't be at all surprised that I picked this idea up from another thread. Happily, the thought was there when needed.
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    Carl Strange
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    SS7, 912iS, Oratex, G3X

  5. #405
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    Everything you’ve said here Carl resonates. The amount of tweaking, pushing, adjusting, filling in blemishes, and especially the aligning of the cowl with the prop hub and making sure it wasn’t cocked over at some weird angle ..... that all took days to sort out. The next big step will be fitting the cam locks. Strongly recommend you firmly secure the cowl to it’s final position and then pilot drill. I didn’t do that and found that I had to drag some holes to get everything to line up. Also, I found the inner angles that hold the camloc receptacles at the firewall are very flexible so when I Pilot drilled them, they bent inwards. After I’d attached the receptacles I had to drag holes in the cowl to align. So suggest you don’t full size holes until you know everything aligns. Temporary restraining of those flexible firewall @ngles will help a lot if you can do it.
    David
    SS7 Builder

  6. #406
    Senior Member Cherrybark's Avatar
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    Thanks for the tips David. My latest "whoops" was realizing the lower cowl piece wasn't fitted snugly to the bottom of the boot cowl. We had penciled in some measurement on the sides of the boot cowl, showing distance from the center point at the top. These marks helped us center the lower cowl so it would be "level" rather than twisted. When it came time to mark the upper cowl for trimming, we noticed the back of the upper cowling didn't have sufficient overlap of the bottom cowl. It took a minute to realize we worried too much about the lower cowl being level and hadn't thought to neatly fit the lower cowl to the boot cowl.

    Now that we've made that adjustment, there is another oddity to deal with. The boot cowl seems centered since the lower curves fit snugly against the frame. The lower cowl is hanging so it's lower curves mate nicely to the bottom of the boot cowl. The upper cowl can be positioned to fit neatly with enough overlap to trim. However, the mark we made at the middle rear of the upper cowl is about 1/2" off from the center of the boot cowl. This will require some head scratching and slight adjustments.

    Once the cowling is complete and all buttoned up, is there any problem with the front of the cowling sagging down over time? What keeps the front of the cowling in position? Just the ring of camlocks on the boot cowl?
    Carl Strange
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    SS7, 912iS, Oratex, G3X

  7. #407
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    Carl, I have found that the cowl does not sag over time. The 3 pieces of cowling all camlocked together form a very rigid structure.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
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  8. #408
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    Concur with Jim. Given that there's a bit of slack in each camloc, I too was worried about it. But once all those camlocs are done up, the cowl structure is very rigid, surprisingly so.
    David
    SS7 Builder

  9. #409
    Senior Member Cherrybark's Avatar
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    Thanks for the feedback guys.
    Carl Strange
    Flying
    SS7, 912iS, Oratex, G3X

  10. #410
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Default Re: First, Build a Shed

    I have a slightly different experience. I can button mine up looking perfect at the nose cone, then walk up front , pull with a couple pounds force and cause my cowl to dip about 1/4. I mention this because I may know the culprit here. "Her" it goes (with geographic accent}. When you drill the camloc holes you will recognize that there is a step in the outer diameter of the Male half. If I wanted my recessed fastener to lie flat, then I had to slightly enlarge the holes in the fiberglass to accept the step. So be careful how you address that issue should you come across that as well.
    Eddie Forward
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    SS7, 912iS, Garmin G3X

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