Momentum lost
Hours: 1.7 | Posted in Cowling & Baffles, Wing & Tail JoinsCountersunk & installed the lower HS fairing strips.
Installed an alternate static placard on the panel.
Re-fit the cowling and set the depth of the bottom cowl camlocs.
Fussed with the cowling, bulkhead, and spinner a bit, and came away not feeling so good. The spacers I used when fitting the cowl must have been off by just a touch, because it now appears the cowl is shifted off to the left by a small amount. The result of this is that the desired 1/4″ gap behind the spinner measures 1/4″ at the left side, but only 1/8″ on the right. If the cowl hadn’t already been fit and drilled, hinges cut, etc, this wouldn’t be that big of a deal, just slide the right side aft. As it is, I can see two options: 1) remove all the hinges, camlocs & such, fill the drilled holes, and refit the cowling, or 2) install the top skin, camloc strips, and camlocs (because I already drilled the camloc receptacle holes to full size, I can’t just cleco the cowl to the strips any more), attach the cowls in position, and rework the front of the cowling to provide the desired gaps. The cowling might also be sitting a bit high, given the common recommendation to set it low to allow for engine sag.
All in all — Ugh. I wasn’t looking forward to the fiberglassing to begin with, and this further dampens my desire to get started.
EDIT: After some reading, apparently this is not uncommon, and an accepted way to deal with it is to add layers of glass to the aft side of the cowl spinner area, and sand back until the gap is even all around. Spots where the gap is too large can be built up with filler, and the nose reshaped as necessary.
