Cowling stuff

 I glued on the windscreen and aft canopy skirt with Sikaflex; This went as planned with no real drama.

I am working on the cowling now. I have the new nose gear, so the bottom is attached not with hinge material, but rather with screws into a plate. The sides and top still use the hinges.

I decided long ago that I would get the cowling and baffling done before putting the plane on the gear. So far the plan is working out well.

Today I drilled the bottom attachment screws 1/8" for cleco's. I will up drill for the 8-32 screws once every thing fits.

I found getting the front of the top and bottom sections trimmed and fitted was the secret to making the rear part line up correctly.

Attached is a picture of how I used a bottle jack to push everything into position to drill the bottom screw holes. Having the plane on a low stand, and not on the gear, really paid off.

I just need to do final trim on the fuse sides and the cowling sides, then install the hinges.

I will probably finish the baffles, the flap motor, elevator control linkages, and all the stuff inside before putting it on the gear.

Help in the shop

 So I started the canopy and had a little help in the shop.

Canopy Done? say it aint so....

 8/5/22 Update

So I think my windscreen frame and aft skirt is done for now. They are primed and (nearly) ready for the painter. I say nearly because it was perfect until I tried a quick repair and ended up making a depression when trying to fix a small pinhole; the prep for paint will have to take care of it.

I plan to have them glued on this week using Sikaflex.

Commenting from a earlier post, the fiberglass using the Aeroepoxy is plenty strong with only 4 layers of 9 oz. I had 5 on the front canopy windscreen frame so if a passenger grabs it it would not crack. the aft skirt is 4 layers and it is plenty strong enough. I really like the Aeroepoxy. I only had one batch that didn't set up properly (possibly operator error?). I found waiting 3 days after the layup was necessary to sand properly.

I am already starting the cowl, which I expect to be easier since that is just fitting an existing part, as opposed to creating the windscreen frame and aft skirt from scratch. I learned a lot, but I wish I can stop learning and get finished.....

I thought this would take me a month, it took me three. A non-removal windscreen and aft skirt would have been faster, but would not be as easy to get nice. I am glad I took the time to make them glue on pieces; so much easier to finish.