Van's Air Force
Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.
Cowling
- Thread starter Jkyounger
- Start date
Search function
Hi
If you use the search function you will fInd there are several threads on this.
For what it's worth I have sky bolt fasteners on the top cowl and hinges everywhere else. The hinges work very well, the only reason I did not use them across the firewall is that is the most difficult area to get hinges to work and hiden.
Hi
If you use the search function you will fInd there are several threads on this.
For what it's worth I have sky bolt fasteners on the top cowl and hinges everywhere else. The hinges work very well, the only reason I did not use them across the firewall is that is the most difficult area to get hinges to work and hiden.
I have Milspec fasteners at the firewall, with hinges on the side horizontal joint between upper and lower cowl. The advantage I found with the Milspec fasteners is they're adjustable for depth. It is my understanding that is not the case with all similar 1/4 turn fasteners. As the previous post indicated, there are many threads covering this topic in detail.
I have found the piano hinges good and wouldn't change to camlocks, but I did make one change to the design. I cut an opening in the upper cowl above where the two hinge pins are inserted. I made a thin fibreglass cover for the hole with 2 camlocks to secure it. No problems starting the hinge pins or removing them now.
Adjustable Fasteners
To shed some light on this subject, I designed and originally patented the adjusting 1/4-Turn fastener receptacle and licensed it to Milspec when I was a majority owner. The original design was for my Dad's RV4 project at the time and it became a great test bed. For the record, the patent expired, actually two of them expired. Skybolt has always included the latest version of the adjusting receptacle in every Vans kit we have ever sold, always made in the USA. Camloc does not have an adjusting receptacle and LISI (Mondanock) does not have an adjusting receptacle (for the 4000 series Camloc). Like the adjusting receptacle concept combined with Skybolt's years of hands on experience (real hands on....not page copied out of a book or a catch phrase), we introduced the Diamondhead fasteners (non-galling NASM5591 rated), the interlocking flange, and the non-float grommet unique to Skybolt kits. These designs have made the cowling installation build less of a nightmare and more of a production quality process, while focusing on a grand champion level of perfection....that is functional. We have not stopped there. A unique design I recently completed for one of our nation's primary UAV program as a retrofit, will soon come back to the Skybolt Vans RV market. Like the adjusting receptacle, it will be a game changer and mark a new frontier in fastening. Look for this in later 2016. I intend to make the aviation version a simple retrofit, so don't worry about being the last customer for the old style fastener. If you are using a Skybolt kit, we will discount the conversion for all kits sold in the past 12-months of the release.
I owe a lot to the Vans RV builders and community for my foundation of innovations. If I can get it to work on an RV4, 6,7 8, 10 or an RV14 it can also work on military planes and what works on military planes, I can also get it priced right to work on Vans RV planes.
For the record,
Ned Bowers - Skybolt Founder and Lead Innovator
To shed some light on this subject, I designed and originally patented the adjusting 1/4-Turn fastener receptacle and licensed it to Milspec when I was a majority owner. The original design was for my Dad's RV4 project at the time and it became a great test bed. For the record, the patent expired, actually two of them expired. Skybolt has always included the latest version of the adjusting receptacle in every Vans kit we have ever sold, always made in the USA. Camloc does not have an adjusting receptacle and LISI (Mondanock) does not have an adjusting receptacle (for the 4000 series Camloc). Like the adjusting receptacle concept combined with Skybolt's years of hands on experience (real hands on....not page copied out of a book or a catch phrase), we introduced the Diamondhead fasteners (non-galling NASM5591 rated), the interlocking flange, and the non-float grommet unique to Skybolt kits. These designs have made the cowling installation build less of a nightmare and more of a production quality process, while focusing on a grand champion level of perfection....that is functional. We have not stopped there. A unique design I recently completed for one of our nation's primary UAV program as a retrofit, will soon come back to the Skybolt Vans RV market. Like the adjusting receptacle, it will be a game changer and mark a new frontier in fastening. Look for this in later 2016. I intend to make the aviation version a simple retrofit, so don't worry about being the last customer for the old style fastener. If you are using a Skybolt kit, we will discount the conversion for all kits sold in the past 12-months of the release.
I owe a lot to the Vans RV builders and community for my foundation of innovations. If I can get it to work on an RV4, 6,7 8, 10 or an RV14 it can also work on military planes and what works on military planes, I can also get it priced right to work on Vans RV planes.
For the record,
Ned Bowers - Skybolt Founder and Lead Innovator
