Tip: Camloc receptacle installation

Here is a run through of how we fit camlocs and cowlings. This was brought up by a question someone asked about scalloping the strips of aluminum that the camloc receptacles are mounted to.

First thing to consider is that the engine mount and engine will be attached and detached from the firewall several times during the process. For you nose wheel folks, the nose gear is a real thorn, so for now just take it out of the engine mount and set it aside.

With the engine mount off the firewall and the front of the fuselage on a sawhorse, you can install the aluminum strips.

• There is a .020 spacer that is ?? wide that goes between the stainless steel firewall and the camloc strip. We found that this spacer can save you from countersinking the heavier camloc strips; we use .060 or .080 X 1 ??.
  
  1. 
     Start by transferring the holes around the firewall to the .020 spacer.
  2. Drill the spacer holes out to a #12. This will fit around the dimple in the firewall/fuselage skin.
  3. Drill the camloc strips.
     ● You will need 5 strips (One over the top, two down the sides, and two on the bottom).​
• With the spacers and the camloc strips removed, put a cleco in each hole around the firewall. You will notice the stainless steel firewall and the aluminum skin don?t line up perfectly; you need to file the firewall down flush with the fuselage skin.
• Use Pro-seal between the firewall, spacer, and camloc strips.
  1. Rivet assembly together.
• Now that the camloc strips are permanent, you can determine the location of the camloc receptacles.
  1. Using the drill jig that came with your Skybolt kit, drill a #30 hole where the eventual centers of the receptacles will be.
• Now is the time to put the engine mount and engine on the firewall.
  1. 
     Nose gear guys will suspend the engine with an engine hoist while fitting the lower cowling.
• When you are happy with the cowling fit (getting there is a complete journey in unto itself), you can use a flashlight inside the cowling to ?see? the #30 holes you placed in the camloc strips using the camloc jig.
  1. 
     You will also be able to see the nose gear hole in the engine mount. Mark and enlarge this hole so you can put the nose gear on to support the fuselage.
     
     ● Small tip to keep the aircraft will be more stable throughout the rest of the firewall forward process. Leave the wheel fork off and just put the end of the nose gear on a 2x6.​
• When you are totally happy with the lower cowling, you can start the upper cowling using the same methods as the lower cowling.
• After both cowlings are self-supporting exactly where you want them, you can remove the engine mount from the firewall and install the camloc receptacles.

http://www.blueskyaviation.net/camloc.html

Spacers . . .

Are spacers essential? Will they make-up for the thickness of the cowl??

spacers are required

Yes the spacer is required as the combined thickness of the fuselage skin and the thickness of the stainless steel firewall are less than the thickness of the cowling.

with out the spacer your cowling will ride a little high.