pointless complaint

[BillL]

It will look easy in the morning. Take a break. Cut your finger, stub your toe, forget about the "instructions".

Wake up refreshed. Get to work.

Now I feel better.

[rleffler]

Originally Posted by jwilbur

Been working on fitting the cowl. Need to get this off my chest.

<gripe>

The cowl plans are essentially useless. The fiberglass cowl quality is terrible.

</gripe>

That feels better. Hope everyone else is having a frustration-less weekend.

Welcome to the club! With the fiberglass parts, there are plenty of opportunities to frustrate yourself. Especially when many of us start, we are novices with the task at hand.

If you can find a local RV'er that can look over your shoulder and/or take a break. Everyone one wants to complete their build asap, but sometimes it just works better to take a few days off.

A mistake I made added a good thirty hours to the build regarding the cowling, Like somebody else stated, it's just fiberglass and you can fix anything with enough time and patience.

[bill v]

I think it is one of expectations. compared to my rv-4 cowl of 1990 this rv-7 cowl is perfect. yes my fit is not perfect but it was all my fault. the two halves get in each others way to know what to do and one change cause unexpected changes. I can tell that if I had cut it right the two halves are exact matches

[Pat Stewart]

As someone else said find someone who has already done this to show you the process. I have built four and helped with a few more. Other than the pin holes I think it's a good product. It needs to be long to make sure it can be trimmed to a good fit for everyone. If you were local I would be glad to help you but I'm sure there are some builders in your area that can assist.

[jwilbur]

So After getting the bottom cowl fitted I realized the gaps in the front where the circular portions meet is about the same size and shape as the portions I cut off in step one in the plans. The scrap bits fit surprisingly well. If I had skipped step #1 and #2 (cut bottom portion to get a perfect semi-circle on the top cowl) I wonder if I would have prevented some angst. ... My cowl is gray and smooth - different from the pink ones I see on many build logs. Maybe Van's has improved the stock cowl for the RV10 but has neglected to change the plans. Just a guess.

[AviatorJ]

Random question, do you need the engine mounted to properly mount the cowl?

[jwilbur]

Originally Posted by AviatorJ

Random question, do you need the engine mounted to properly mount the cowl?

Yes. And the prop, too (or at least the spinner back-plate)

[scorwin]

Originally Posted by Pat Stewart

As someone else said find someone who has already done this to show you the process. I have built four and helped with a few more. Other than the pin holes I think it's a good product. It needs to be long to make sure it can be trimmed to a good fit for everyone. If you were local I would be glad to help you but I'm sure there are some builders in your area that can assist.

I live in south Arlington, I may take you up on that!!! It'll be a while though. Still working on the fuselage (Section 35 i think...)

[sblack]

no matter what you have done, it can all be fixed with fiberglass. Anything that was cut out can be stuck back, or built back up. It is very forgiving. Put a dent in a wing skin and you are screwed. But cut a chunk out of a cowling and you can glass it back in and fill the gouges. With work you can have a perfect finish. Don't panic, just fix the parts that you botched and build on. With some skilled use of filler and sand paper nobody will ever know.

I am fitting mine right now - a very old 1990 RV4. I have big gaps at the front, and a ton of gelcoat, which I am sanding off. I will fill all the gaps with glass and flox it will end up with a perfect seam. I wish metal work was that easy.

[Pat Stewart]

Originally Posted by scorwin

I live in south Arlington, I may take you up on that!!! It'll be a while though. Still working on the fuselage (Section 35 i think...)

No problem, be glad to help