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Date:  11-18-2018
Number of Hours:  2.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Trimming of the Boot Cowl.

I had painted my boot cowl before installing the landing gear, so at the time I was unaware that I needed to trim the lower rear edge to clear the landing gear mounting blocks. Shortly after getting it painted Glenn had mentioned that he had the same experience - Crap!!

Since this required trimming on painted parts, I have been dreading it ever since. I have also heard from at least two others who needed to resolve this issue and ended up with large gaps in the trimmed area - adding to my anxiety levels.

I started by cutting a rectangular piece of poster board about 6 x 18", and using the boot cowl I located and drilled several rivet holes locations into the cardboard template. With the template cleckoed in place I traced around the rear edge of the boot cowl and trimmed the cardboard so I had a replica of the boot cowl geometry. Using this template I could see where the interference was, and I was able to make several trim / test iterations to get the template to fit properly. Once it fit well I just traced the new outline on a piece of tape I had applied to the cowl. I was able to use the same template for both the right and left sides of the cowl.

I made the initial cuts with a tin snips, and used a dremel with a sanding drum along with a couple sizes of sanding blocks to finish up the cuts. I alternated areas when using the sanding drum to avoid excessive heat and burnt paint. Even after the template, I did a couple of trial / trim iterations to get everything just so.

In the end I was thrilled with results. I was convinced that I would need to touch up the paint in this area, but the trimmed edges are either hidden behind the gear legs or so close to the landing gear mounting blocks that they are not visible. All the gaps are between 1/32" and 1/16", so I would call it a successful day in the shop : )
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My paper template cleckoed in place.

My paper template cleckoed in place.

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Nice Fit!

Nice Fit!

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Looking more like an airplane!

Looking more like an airplane!

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