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Dave's RV-7A Builder's Log
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Date: 11-15-2014
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Number of Hours: 2.50
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Cowl fitting
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With an arctic blast heading to KS this weekend, and a new baby at Beth and Andrew's, I knew that I wouldn't have much time (or interest) in going out to the hangar, so I snuck out for a couple of hours this morning to do some work.
I had last been working on the cowling fasteners, and in my apparent haste to make some progress, I had already drilled the aluminum attach brackets out to 11/16" for the MilSpec receptacles. Unfortunately, the bottom cowl has not been fitted yet, so by enlarging those holes, there is no way to properly align the top cowl. Oh bother.
Since this is experimental aviation, and the solution is whatever I make it, I did what I always do--headed to Menard's for inspiration. I came upon a solution that involved cutting a 5/8" wood dowel into small "pins" and attaching them with screws to the reference holes in the fiberglass cowl. The theory was that these "pins", slightly smaller than the holes in the aluminum, would hold the top cowl in the proper position, and sure enough, they did.
I'm still not thrilled by the way the cowl fits at the front. As the picture shows, there is about 3/8" gap between the front of the cowl and the back of the spinner plate. This is the max recommended by the plans, so any excessive gap there will be filled with epoxy and foam when I do the final fitting. I also have a droopy right side, but I hope that will be supported and brought when the lower cowling is in place.
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3/8" gap, but at least it's even...
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