To shim or not to shim. I see both processes on other build sites. Skybolt instructions suggest you should just use an .032 strip to slightly lower everything, and then lay some aluminum HVAC glue strip tape on those fastener plate top surfaces where I would need to lift the cowling upward to a perfect flush fit with the adjacent skins. Apparently the cowling thickness varies from .005 to .03. I'll just take bunch of measurements on the cowling end to see what I have and then decide what, if anything, to do about shimming. So far, the top cowling does not need any shims with the skybolt system. After assembly, it looks like one or two out of 33 will need some HVAC aluminum tape applied to push a couple spots upwards. Nice. I used 6 floating fasteners, basically on the top cowl at the outer curves. Also used one on copilot bottom corner due to a slight misalignment when I drilled that hole. It aligned perfectly.
Skybolt plastic pin holds lock spring free so adjustments are easy. Then pull the plastic pin.
All skybolts adjusted. Now on to side hinges.
Hmmm. 33 plates installed. 32 skybolts. One more coming in mail....
