tx_jayhawk

Well Known Member
All,

I'm preparing to shear some Al for the Camloc backing strips for the sides of the cowling (where they meet). I used .063 (scalloped) for the firewall attach points. I'm curious whether others have gottern the cowling contour to follow sufficiently on the sides with .063 (with scalloped cutouts)? I'm thinking it might be advisable to consider 0.050 on the sides to allow it to better follow the natural contour of the cowl.

For reference, i am using the Sam James cowl, so it may be a little more "contoured" then the Vans cowl.

Thanks,
Scott
7A Finishing
 
Scott, same set up here.. worked out just fine with 063, but you don't have to go all the way forward to the inlet opening.. I stopped in the area where the cowl takes a sharper bend inwards.
 
.040

I got away with 2024-T3 .040 on my entire firewall surround. I meant to use .063 and goofed that day. Realized it later and figured I would leave it and upgrade to .063 if anything ever showed indications of fatigue or cracking. Scalloped in the traditional manner.

240 hours with good amount of loops, rolls and medium G (2 to 4G) and no cracks so far.
 
Rivet Attachment

Radomir (or others),

How wide did you make the strips on the sides? Did you do them about 2" (like the firewall)? Did you do a single (or double) row of attach rivets to the bottom side? Any other fiberglass layups or other stiffeners?

Thanks,
Scott
 
I used what I had at hand.. 1.75" wide.. single row.. haven't yet, but will, fiberglassed on the back side as additional support. hth
 
Radomir,

How far forward did you extend the backing strip on the side (how close to the forward face is it)? To ensure it stays tightly together, I would like to extend it as far forward as possible.

Thanks again,
Scott