Fix or Replace Cowling?

Hi--

I did a search and did not find a thread on this topic, so here I go...

My a/c partner and I did not build our 6A (I am in awe of you guys!), so we don't have as many repair skills you do. Our plane has about 1400 hours total time.

The upper and lower cowl seem to generate cracks at a rapid rate, e.g. we have to get the fiberglass repaired and painted about once a year, which equates to about 170 hours of flight time between repairs. Crack locations vary a little, but normally they develop around the rounded corners of lower air intake/vent (I would call it the "scoop", but I'm an admitted newb).

My questions are simple.

Is the current repair cycle normal?
Should we consider replacing the cowlings and starting over?
If so, I do not see RV 6 specific cowlings on the parts list...is it a common part with another model?

That isn't normal.

A few pictures would help. Maybe the scoop wasn't properly attached (it was a separate piece back in the day). It was supposed to be attached and then layers of fiberglass were laid over the transitions - maybe that wasn't done. Maybe something is vibrating against it.

In any case, a better understanding of the location of the cracks would help.

My immediate thoughts are that a proper repair should be much easier than fitting a new cowl and that, properly done (and with any causal factors eliminated), you should never have to repair that part of the cowl again.

Kyle Boatright said:

That isn't normal.

A few pictures would help. Maybe the scoop wasn't properly attached (it was a separate piece back in the day). It was supposed to be attached and then layers of fiberglass were laid over the transitions - maybe that wasn't done. Maybe something is vibrating against it.

In any case, a better understanding of the location of the cracks would help.

My immediate thoughts are that a proper repair should be much easier than fitting a new cowl and that, properly done (and with any mitigating factors eliminated), you should never have to repair that part of the cowl again.

Click to expand...

+1 .

Not Normal....

Before you repair it again, try and find what's causing the cracks. Possibly the transition from cowling to carb inlet is too short allowing the engine vibration to exert pressure on the cowling.