What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Cowling RV 7 side hinges

dave4754

Well Known Member
I am about to install the long side hinges and wondered if anyone knows what is meant by allowing the " hinge to drift up" at the end. This instruction baffles me and thought I would throw it out there?

Also what did you do to finish the outer skin of the cowling. I have the pink one?

Dave
 
It means you won't try to keep the hinge centered on the line between the upper and lower cowl. Allow the hinge center to "drift" up but not too much or you will lose edge distance.

I have a SJ long cowl, which is still bare on the outside but the inside was treated to avoid oil penetration. Same for the edges. There are threads on this topic.
 
Last edited:
cowl hinge and Evercoat Glazing Putty

I just finished my lower cowl. I finished the surface using Evercoat Polyester glazing putty. It is at autoparts stores. I tried the process of painting thick epoxy resin on it, but the sanding was difficult and result looked bad. But by feeling with hands I could find and fill the pores with glazing putty. When I primed it, the defects showed even more, so I just kept squeezing glazing putty into the pores. It is easy to sand and make smooth.
 
Per my friend Roy, I replaced the lower half of each hinge with a hinge that had another 1/4" of width. This allowed us to center the hinge 1/8" above the the line of the cowling.
 
If you buy the wider flange hinge stock & use it for the bottom side, you can allow the flange to bridge the seam along the whole length. Helps keep top/bottom aligned, and slightly improve the air seal at the seam.
 
I am about to install the long side hinges and wondered if anyone knows what is meant by allowing the " hinge to drift up" at the end. This instruction baffles me and thought I would throw it out there?

Also what did you do to finish the outer skin of the cowling. I have the pink one?

Dave

Dave, logically the cowl split line begins at the center of the crankshaft and extend backwards parallel to the longeron, right? Well, not so fast - I thought this but found that on my SJ cowl it was higher than the split line at the firewall.

So - check that with your Vans cowl to see if that is how they do theirs too.

I do remember that when making an aluminum attachment plate for the SkyBolts, the split line was not straight either, I had to bend it like a banana to get an even projection of material as it progressed to the rear. That may, or may not, be related to the "drift up" comment.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top