As the non-builder owner of my 1996 RV-6, I don't know some of the minutiae of subtle changes to the RV's that have happened over time. In particular, cowling shapes and construction materials.
My cowling was built with a removable Inlet/FAB cover. This has been quite handy when changing oil, but on the whole I think having a one piece lower cowl would have been a better idea. That said, with a 20 year old cowl that's had its share of oil spills on it, I don't think bonding the two together is going to be a successful endeavour.
One of the screws at the aft corner tore out recently, after the reinforcing strip along the back cracked and departed (visible in the photos below). While repairing this, I decided I should deal with the peeling paint around some of the screw holes, and that resulted in stripping (well, flaking) most of the paint off along the hole line. Also, cracks are now visible around the front of the flange, and dirt/oil has worked its way into those as well.
Considering the time and likelihood of success in repairing this, I started thinking about a new cowling... A much larger job, yes. Then I saw that Vans sells just the FAB/Inlet cover as a separate piece! Replacing that with a new one seems to be a much better choice. But! There are two options for an RV-6 with an O-320... Regular, and "Type S" cowls. How can I tell which one I have?
I know that newer cowls have a "pink" core to them, but mine is yellowish everywhere so it's an older one. There was apparently a "Shorter" and a "Longer" cowling over the years too. I do have the 2" spacer and not the 4", so maybe that means I have a short cowl? The top cowl measures approximately 34" from the ground to the front flange when it's standing on the hangar floor. Dimensions of the cover are shown, hopefully that will help identify it?
Any guidance appreciated!
My cowling was built with a removable Inlet/FAB cover. This has been quite handy when changing oil, but on the whole I think having a one piece lower cowl would have been a better idea. That said, with a 20 year old cowl that's had its share of oil spills on it, I don't think bonding the two together is going to be a successful endeavour.
One of the screws at the aft corner tore out recently, after the reinforcing strip along the back cracked and departed (visible in the photos below). While repairing this, I decided I should deal with the peeling paint around some of the screw holes, and that resulted in stripping (well, flaking) most of the paint off along the hole line. Also, cracks are now visible around the front of the flange, and dirt/oil has worked its way into those as well.
Considering the time and likelihood of success in repairing this, I started thinking about a new cowling... A much larger job, yes. Then I saw that Vans sells just the FAB/Inlet cover as a separate piece! Replacing that with a new one seems to be a much better choice. But! There are two options for an RV-6 with an O-320... Regular, and "Type S" cowls. How can I tell which one I have?
I know that newer cowls have a "pink" core to them, but mine is yellowish everywhere so it's an older one. There was apparently a "Shorter" and a "Longer" cowling over the years too. I do have the 2" spacer and not the 4", so maybe that means I have a short cowl? The top cowl measures approximately 34" from the ground to the front flange when it's standing on the hangar floor. Dimensions of the cover are shown, hopefully that will help identify it?
Any guidance appreciated!
