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Piano hinge question

L

Larry DeCamp

Well Known Member
Friend
Apologies for a stupid question. I am rehabing a wrecked RV3. The cowl is salvageable so I have installed it on a new fuselage kit with skybolt adjustable fasteners on the firewall. The piano hinge on the horizontal parting line needs to be adjusted to fit with the new cheek cowls. My options are 2700 series Skybolt fasteners or replace the piano hinge on the sides to FINE Tune the fit with the cheek cowls. I like the eloquence of hinges for appearance and low drag, but getting the pin in and out with a sexy retainer on the nose does not feel handy.
I have read about bolube and a drill etc. But how do you put a pin in and then contain it with a screwed in place retainer> Advice respectfully solicited.
 
Buy the piano hinge from Vans that has a half hinge welded on the front end that attaches with a screw into a nut plate. It won't come out, it's streamlined, and it gives you a 'handle' to take it out and put it in with. Looks good because you can't see it.
 
Extruded piano hinge ?

The many treads regarding cowl hinge reference extruded hinge. The stock material on my project is rolled. I consider the insertion effort excessive for the almost straight cowl parting line. Is the extruded better for ease of wire insertion and if so, where do you get it?
 
Larry DeCamp said:
The many treads regarding cowl hinge reference extruded hinge. The stock material on my project is rolled. I consider the insertion effort excessive for the almost straight cowl parting line. Is the extruded better for ease of wire insertion and if so, where do you get it?
Click to expand...

I used the rolled (stock) hinge when I built my -4. After several years of use, I had broken a number of eyelets. I replaced the sections between the upper and lower cowl halves with extruded hinge and Skybolt camlocs along the top portion of the firewall. The extruded hinge came from Aircraft Spruce and has held up well for the past 7 or 8 years. I install/remove my hinge pins from the cockpit so there is no exposed termination detail. A "chisel" point on the tip and a bit of Boelube along the length of the hinge pin allows it to go in easily every time.

Good luck,

Dean
 
Had a thought about the idea of the small access hatch in the cheek. You'd probably want a bed in the hinge wire so that you can pull on it. If the hatch had an internal angle in the right location, you'd get two benefits from it.

1. It would prevent the hinge wire from creeping out.

2. The hinge wire, if it's not all the way in, would prevent the hatch from closing. That would be a warning to you that the cowl was partially unhinged.

Dave
 
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