aluminum cowling

[fixnflyguy]

I am a metal guy at heart, and love wheeling,hammering and forming metal more than anything. Back in the 30's and 40's almost every airplane had artwork in metal all over it,and fiberglass wasn't even a word yet.. I deeply pondered making all my -4 glasswork out of metal, especially after seeing the -6 mentioned. But, I also make my living repairing,maintaining and restoring airplanes and can say the metal cowlings are not easy to keep from shaking apart and wearing into everything. In the RV arena, I believe we are far better off with the fiberglass components for durability and repairability. On a metal note, the Hughes Racer replica (now long gone) made me drool...pure beauty.

[JonJay]

Posted for builder Greg Halverson.

[Bruce]

This is the plane Bill is talking about.

Did not survive trip home from OSH.
Sad situation

Boomer

[deene]

The builder of the all aluminum RV6 was Mike McMains of Waco TX. The plane was a work of art and was located at the MacGregor TX airport.

Not sure of the plane?s status now...

Here is a link to some photos of Mike?s handiwork:

http://pioneerflightmuseum.org/aircr...s/070825.shtml