From: "R & A Colebrook" <rossann@azstarnet.com>
To: "Lancair List" <lancair.list@olsusa.com>
Subject: ENGINE COWL FITTING
Date: Sat, 6 Mar 1999 16:55:04 -0700
Message-ID: <01be682c$c18ac760$5621c5a9@rossann.olympus.net>
Mime-Version: 1.0

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Bill Harrelson asked about fitting engine cowls.

Here is one way which worked for me and got good alignment at the firewall
and at the spinner.  I made a temporary attachment of the spinner rear
bulkhead to the engine flange, put wooden spacer blocks on the aft side of
the spinner flange thick enough to allow for space between the aft end of
the spinner and the front flange of the engine cowl.  I then C clamped the
front end flange of the lower cowl to the spinner flange spacers forcing
alignment of the front end of the cowl to the spinner.  The back end of the
cowl did not come close to fitting of the firewall flange.  It was out of
square and on one side an inch short of reaching the firewall.  After
suitable grousing to Lancair about poor quality control, I extended the aft
end of the cowl by a 2 bid extension on the outside plus a 3 bid extension
on the inside (total of 5 bid overhanging) and then retrimmed the aft end of
the cowl to match the body.  The front and the back then fit.  I repeated
the process for the upper engine cowl.  I put in no allowance for engine sag
in the alignment to the spinner and I have had none.  I had torgued the
engine mount donuts before fitting the cowls.

Ross W. Colebrook  N7828