I'm getting a much better fit of the cowling today, after posting the question on the forums I was told the cowl really does not fit initially before you trim the bottom side, there is way too much material there, and sure enough, after trimming the bottom of the cowl and making more and more clearance for the gear leg, the gap on the side and top started to close. this is very counterintuitive, but that's how it is. You can see in the pictures, I've got the gap completely closed on the side and a little gap (1/8") remains on the top center, I will do more work on this tomorrow.
