Has anyone ever made the top cowl open like a Bonanza does?
After cleaning out a bird nest when I was at Jekyll Island, if it had been my RV7A, it would have been a royal PITA. Much easier on my Bonanza.
Which made me think as I looked at the top cowl when doing a pre-flight. The top cowl would be removed normally but routine access would be as simple as opening the little door for checking the oil.
My thoughts.
Once the top has been fitted, why not build the attachment frame and support structure that fits the top cowl. Fit the structure to the cowl top underside and drill attachment points where needed. Cut the doors and then rivet the frame and door supports to the cowl. Hinge the top and use a couple of cam locks for closing.
Hinges would attach the frame to the firewall and lower cowl and pins would be accessible when the doors were opened. The baffling would remain the same and you could really do a nice job of fitting the baffle seal since you would have access when one side opened and the other closed.
Here is a picture of the doors on my Bonanza.
Please don’t flame me. Just thinking outside the box.
After cleaning out a bird nest when I was at Jekyll Island, if it had been my RV7A, it would have been a royal PITA. Much easier on my Bonanza.
Which made me think as I looked at the top cowl when doing a pre-flight. The top cowl would be removed normally but routine access would be as simple as opening the little door for checking the oil.
My thoughts.
Once the top has been fitted, why not build the attachment frame and support structure that fits the top cowl. Fit the structure to the cowl top underside and drill attachment points where needed. Cut the doors and then rivet the frame and door supports to the cowl. Hinge the top and use a couple of cam locks for closing.
Hinges would attach the frame to the firewall and lower cowl and pins would be accessible when the doors were opened. The baffling would remain the same and you could really do a nice job of fitting the baffle seal since you would have access when one side opened and the other closed.
Here is a picture of the doors on my Bonanza.
Please don’t flame me. Just thinking outside the box.