Last night we drilled the side hinge on the left side cowl half. I then used the laser level to mark cut lines on the upper and lower cowl centerline edges. I also marked the aft lower edge of the cowl for trimming.
Tonight I used a cutoff wheel in my dremel to cut the upper centerline trim. I left the lower side un-trimmed as noted yesterday just in case I needed to have some extra "help" getting the cowl halves together.
I also cut the notch for the hinge pin on the left side as well as the cut for the lower aft edge. Once the aft edge was cut, I marked and cut the hole for the exhaust and cowl vent.
There is a gap between the cowl halves about 5/16" wide - only at the most aft portion of the lower cowl.
I noticed that very slight changes in the cowl positioning change the gap somewhat. As an example, the lower area of the "bowl" portion of the cowl does overlap - remember - I haven't trimmed that yet. When I loosened the screws holding the cowl to the prop hub so that the edges didn't overlap, the gap closed just a bit.
I am going to wait until later this week to trim the centerline edges of the cowl halves. Additionally, while it didn't seem like it originally, the right side of the cowl appears to be hitting on the oil cooler baffle as well as the air cleaner. I'm going to remove the cleaner first, then check the cooler baffle, then start trimming the centerline. I may be closer than I realize.
