SJ cowl fitting question

[lostpilot28]

I've got the upper cowl mounted and in position (sitting a bit low to account for engine sag)...but the instructions are less than clear regarding the seam between the upper and lower cowl. Van's instructions don't say (at least I couldn't find it) whether the seam should be in-line with the fuselage, which I assume is correct. SJ instructions say to make it "level" and straight. But level according to what...the fuselage?

Sorry, this is probably a dumb question...maybe I'm over thinking it. My fear is that I won't have enough material on the bottom cowl if I trim the top. I think the overlap from front to back is less about an inch.

[Radomir]

Try to keep it level/straight with fuselage... the idea is to keep some sort of symmetry/visually appeal.. IIRC, the top was very close to meeting that, so it didn't need much work.. it was mostly about matching the bottom to it... Either way, go slow and be careful.. A long sanding board works great here...

[db1yg]

Try to make the seam as parrallel with the longeron cap as is possible--see second paragraph. This puts the seam level when in level flight and makes that straight line parrallel with most others on the plane---just seems to look best.

A tip is NOT to trim the upper or lower cowl at the horizontal hinge line until you have BOTH top and bottom cowls mounted and temporarily strapped in place. Let the bottom and top cowls overlap each other at the side seam and then determine where the cuts should be!! If you trim the top first and then mount the bottom you could have a gap between the two close to the fw. This all assumes you have the front rings fitted to the cooling inlets.

Hope this helps!!

Cheers,

db

[lostpilot28]

Thanks fellas...I leveled the aircraft and taped the lower cowl into place. The bottom of the upper cowl was very close to level...maybe 1 degree off (if I'm reading my level correctly).

The lower cowl had to be cut at a taper because the front of the cowl was pretty much right on. I measured the circumference of the inlet rings and got the same circumference on the cowl ring recesses. The back was off by about 3/4-inch, but with the tapered cut it looks OK. I guess I'll find out soon enough if I messed up.