Finally - here is the post I promised a couple of days ago about the cowling. Actually I have quite a bit of work done as you will see in the next several posts.
This post deals with the basic assembly of the cowl:
- After modeling in SolidWorks, part drawings were created and the parts traced onto 1/8" birch ply. The parts were then hand-cut on a jig-saw with an old blade - here's where the precision starts to go out of the process! (Measure with micrometer, mark with chalk, cut with axe).
- Nevertheless, after sanding out all the bumps I had the 12 parts I needed to assemble the cowling frame. Cross-pieces were cut from 1/8" basswood. I chose to split the cowling on the thrust line so I could get it off without removing the prop. The first few pictures show the lower half of the cowl.
- The outside profiles were built over the plans and then joined with the center profiles.
- Pieces of balsa reinforcing were added to the framework to stiffen it up and ensure that the spacing was correct.
- The last few pics show the two halves joined together temporarily to check alignment.
Next up - cowling continued!
