cowling hinge pin question

[jay.pearlman]

I go the cowl wrapped around the engine and am now joining the upper and lower sam james cowl. I offset the hinges along the seam as Wil suggests so that the bottom hinge is 1/4" above the seam line. Works great so far. I would like to exit the hinge pin through the firewall rather than coming our the front. I aligned the pin and it hit the firewall just at the very edge along the side. If I continue, it goes through the NACA air intake for fresh air. Has anyone terminated the hinge pin in the duct? Thought I saw something previously, but can't find any reference. Comments or pictures would be appreciated.

 

[Mel]

We've done several RVs this way. Just put a 90? bend in the end of the pin and insert it into the bottom or back wall of the NACA scoop.

 

[Zero4Zulu]

I made the recepticals to fit in front of the NACA scoops.

Then I made these hinged handles for the pins.

Secured with a screw. This is a old RV6A rebuild so ignore the surrounding uglyness.

 

[jay.pearlman]

reinforcement

Mel,
When you put the 90 deg bend and put it through the scoop, did you reinforce the plastic of the scoop with a metal backing or equivalent. Was there any wear on the plastic over time?

 

[gasman]

Mel,
When you put the 90 deg bend and put it through the scoop, did you reinforce the plastic of the scoop with a metal backing or equivalent. Was there any wear on the plastic over time?

Just insert a rubber grommet.

 

[Mel]

Mel,
When you put the 90 deg bend and put it through the scoop, did you reinforce the plastic of the scoop with a metal backing or equivalent. Was there any wear on the plastic over time?

Nope, we just drilled a hole and stick the pin through it. No seen any wear. There are no loads on the pin.

 

[cjensen]

I ran mine thru the FW as well, but didn't use the NACA duct. Instead the pin is pulled from the inside.

First I drilled a hole the length of the bolt, and installed it in the firewall. This is where the tubing on the inside attaches.

There is enough friction in the fit that nothing was required to keep the pin from sliding out.

Chuck the pin in a drill, and spin it out or back in. Easy.

 

[cjensen]

As I look at my pictures, the pins on mine came out below the NACA duct...is the pin location slightly different on the 6's?

 

[jay.pearlman]

pin position

On the RV 6, the naca ducts are not predrilled and their position is set by the builder. Mine appear a little lower than some of the RV 7s. I hit the duct coming in the lower side just about an inch behind its forward end.
Thanks all for the photos.