Outside cowling temperature?

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Hello Group,

I am trying to determine if it is possible to use stickers (a la car wrapping) to put some nose art on the cowling of my RV3. Does any of you have an idea how warm\hot the outside of the cowling gets during or after flight?

I posted this in the RV3 section, but general ideas from other RV types will suffice as well, just as an indication.

Kind regards,
Duncan

 

[Kyle Boatright]

Absolutely. I have vinyl stripes outlining the painted accent color on my airplane. Those vinyl stripes have held up very well on my cowling for 10+ years.

A "wrap" should be fine.

And to give some answer to your temperature question, the top of my cowl gets very warm, but never too hot to touch.

 

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Hello Group,

Answering my own question, for future reference.
After a flight with all T's & P's in the green, I measured the cowling temperatures a few minutes after landing (with the engine shut down).
The top of the cowling - near the cilinders - was the hottest part, showing 70 degrees (C). The bottom cowling was less warm, about 40 degrees (C).

Duncan