RV-4 cowl cracks
I have owned RV-4 N9547H (serial # 1654) for about 3 years. I did not build it but I love it. It has a carbureted O-320 engine. The upper engine cowl is repeatedly cracking (down to white fiber glass showing) at the front edge in the corner where the intake cheek turns up around the spinner hump. I have had it repaired 3 times over the past 3 years but each time the cracks come back quicker and worse than before. I am loathe to just keep spending money and down-time just repeating the previous repairs without getting to the root cause, (which might be as simple as: cowl old!) . The engine runs nice and smooth and I had a new Lonnie Prince fixed pitch prop installed (and dynamically balanced) 2 years ago. So I cant detect any unusual vibrations.
Would anyone say that the upper cowl is just plain worn out and needs replacing? The plane was completed in 2007. If so, do I have to replace the upper and lower cowls at the same time to ensure that they go together well? The bottom is in great shape. The existing upper cowl seems to fit very well at the moment: not too tight or too loose when you put it in place. I have shown the problem to Vic Syracuse at Falcon Field outside Atlanta and he could not see any reason to cause these cracks.
Any other theories on why this might be happening would be welcome. Also, how much fitting skill and time would be needed to install the upper cowl for a complete novice? Is this doable?
That's a lot of questions but as you can tell, I am a little worried about continuing to fly with this deteriorating cowl.
Thanks
Bruce.
(251) 214 5274
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