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Posted for "George/Shirley Shattuck" <kloop@plantationcable.net>:
Dan Olsen,
You asked about cowl stiffening.
I am attaching a picture or two of my top cowling to illustrate a problem I have had with vibration/flexing and paint cracking. The ramps I installed to smooth out the flow of cooling air into the engine caused a hinging effect at the point where I bonded them to the upper cowling. The pressure inside the plenum caused the flexing that resulted in the cracking paint, indicated by the arrows. I have sanded and repainted and stiffened the interior with many more BIDS but the flexing continued and resulted in cracked paint again.
What is needed is a fore and aft strengthening piece of some kind behind each air intake. I have heard of a length of PVC tubing bonded/glassed in for that purpose, plus to carry cooling air back to the accessory section. Probably, a separate plenum over the engine is the way to go.
George Shattuck
N320GS
I would like to hear from any and all 320/360 drivers who have some time on
their airframes. Are there particular areas of the cowling that should be stiffened? Is the gel-coat cracking anywhere? Do you see flutter/vibration on the top of the cowl during flight? Any deformation after a number of hours?
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