Over-trimmed bottom cowl, any way to fix?

[FlyingDiver]

Other than just buying a new part? Which is $515 plus shipping, and probably back-ordered for months.

I mis-read the instructions when trimming the edges that mate with the top cowl (on the sides) and trimmed 1/8" to the wrong side of the line, so I'm off 1/4" total each side.

I'm afraid if I just lay up some fiberglass from the inside, I can get it flush on the outside but it'll be way thicker on the inside than it should be, which will make it really hard to line up the hinges with the top cowl.

 

[Mikeyb]

My cowl was 1/4” short on one side as delivered from Vans. Rather than fight about it I prepped the outside edge for a scarf joint and clecod a temporary backing plate of scrap aluminum with a layer of peel ply to the inside and put layers of glass on to match the thickness. It wasn’t that hard.

 

[Ironflight]

Been There…..

….Done That….wrote about it…..

https://www.kitplanes.com/love-and-hate/

It’s not hard, you just have to accept it and dive in!

Paul

 

[FlyingDiver]

Thanks for the in-depth writeup, Paul.

Have I mentioned this is my least favorite part of the build? Not a fiberglass fan.

 

[wirejock]

Cowl repair

Yep. Same here trimmed the side splits per manual and came up shy.
Paul's method is the "way".
First I sanded the edge inside to a tapered scsf about 2" deep.
Next I used a long piece of scrap taped or clekoed to the outside. I applied packing tape so it wouldn't stick.
Layup a few layers of glass and cure.
Pop off the mold. Apply layers inside to the original thickness.
Ultimately, I added a strip of carbon fiber covered with fiberglass about 1" wide along every edge of both top and bottom.

 

[DanH]

You're not the first.

https://vansairforce.net/community/showthread.php?t=81595
.

 

[Southern Pete]

The scarfe angle should be around 1:30 for glass (and 1:50 for carbon). If the laminate is 1/16" thick the scarfe length 2", give or take. They key is to get a good transition between your "mould" and the existing glass.