Oil change access opening

[Larry KMYA]

Has anyone else cut the upper cowling oil access door only to find the scribe line is square but the opening should have wider corners for the nutplates?

I double checked and the nutplate corners were NOT scribed on my cowl. Oh well, what’s a few extra hours of fiberglass work !

 

[gasman]

That's not where you want a nutplate. Search for a building blog for the same model you are building and what others have done.
There are many ways to secure that oil door.

 

[Larry KMYA]

Later in the cowling plans it shows the nutplate attached points, but the cutout scribe line is square

 

[rvbuilder2002]

Later in the cowling plans it shows the nutplate attached points, but the cutout scribe line is square

When the original mold tooling was made, it incorporated a scribe line that mimicked the shape shown in the construction manual drawing you posted.

You are the first person I know of to mention a difference.

Anyone with a recently shipped finish kit have a top cowl that is the same?

BTW, it is not nut plates that get mounted in the corners, they are referred to as camlock receptacles.

 

[BruceW]

Since triangle flanges for the camlocks are gone, now a good time to think of other latch options.
I used a short hinge arrangement with pull cable going forward to the cowl opening on my -7.
Clean look for the oil door. Plan on doing the same for the -14.

 

[mc607]

This is what I did. I ordered a sq.ft. of .063 from ACS and made a new door. Latch is old stock Cessna. I bonded a SS strike plate to reinforce the frp. I tested it by flipping the cowl upside down and placed a 10 lb. weight on the closed access door. All good.

 

[Desert Rat]

I didn't like the idea of those winged cam locks sticking up, so just for the aesthetics I made my own door out of scrap and and went with a spring loaded hidden hinge and Hartwell latches like Cessna does there.

 

[Halleffect]

When the original mold tooling was made, it incorporated a scribe line that mimicked the shape shown in the construction manual drawing you posted.

You are the first person I know of to mention a difference.

Anyone with a recently shipped finish kit have a top cowl that is the same?

BTW, it is not nut plates that get mounted in the corners, they are referred to as camlock receptacles.

Scott:
I received my Finish Kit July'24 and it had the correct scribe lines.

 

[TASEsq]

When the original mold tooling was made, it incorporated a scribe line that mimicked the shape shown in the construction manual drawing you posted.

You are the first person I know of to mention a difference.

Anyone with a recently shipped finish kit have a top cowl that is the same?

BTW, it is not nut plates that get mounted in the corners, they are referred to as camlock receptacles.

My cowls are marked as QC 02-24 and look like this. Don’t see any scribe lines

 

[mc607]

My cowls are marked as QC 02-24 and look like this. Don’t see any scribe lines

Mine were partially hidden by the primer they spray on the cowl after molding. I took some MEK to remove it and expose the lines.

 

[TASEsq]

Mine were partially hidden by the primer they spray on the cowl after molding. I took some MEK to remove it and expose the lines.
View attachment 101479

I love this forum! They put a lot of primer onto the surface - the scribe lines are there as advertised.

 

[climberrn]

Has anyone else cut the upper cowling oil access door only to find the scribe line is square but the opening should have wider corners for the nutplates?

I double checked and the nutplate corners were NOT scribed on my cowl. Oh well, what’s a few extra hours of fiberglass work !

Or just use a Hartfield latch or two, and you won’t need the Camlocs mounted.

 

[climberrn]

I didn't like the idea of those winged cam locks sticking up, so just for the aesthetics I made my own door out of scrap and and went with a spring loaded hidden hinge and Hartwell latches like Cessna does there.

Exactly what I did.