Epoxy cowling hinges?

[Hawkeye7A]

Greetings all,
I'm about to begin the process of riveting the cowling hinges to the cowling. I'm debating on whether the extra work and effort is worth it to epoxy (actually I'm talking a slurry mix) the hinges to the cowling (new-style honeycomb "S" cowling) in addition to the rivets to take some of the load. I'm interested in others experience in how well theirs' are holding up as far as broken eyes, etc. I'm also curious if anyone knows if Vans uses the epoxy technique or just rivets. I've read a bit about their failures and required reworks on some of their earlier demo birds but iirc they have the older, heavier gel-coated cowlings. Any info would be appreciated. Thanx.

[painless]

IMHO, it doesn't take much to cut a strip of fiberglass wide enough to cover the flat part of the hinge and extend onto the fiberglass of the cowl. The extra strength is a plus here, as there can be some pretty high pressures built up inside the cowl in flight. I just felt better doing it and not relying on rivets that could be pulled through the fiberglass cowl after countersinking the holes.

Hope this helps

[pierre smith]

Hi Hawk,
I agree with Jeff but we also drilled a bunch of holes (3/16") in the flat, about an inch apart, to help the paste/glass to ooze through and it doesn't take much time. Then we sanded it with 50 grit really coarse paper to help the adhesion.

Regards,

[Hawkeye7A]

Wow! This forum is awesome. I just posted a short time ago and already have the info I need. I hadn't thought about using glass strips and adding the holes should allow the epoxy to weep through the hinges and add to the integrity. Thanx a lot, guys.