This afternoon I removed the cowling. I inspected the fiberglass and it all looks
good to me. The connection of the duct
to the inside of the lower cowl looks fine.
The layers of glass on top of the intake oval opening and inside of the
cooling duct transition look good.
I
mixed a small bath of epoxy resin and flox.
I removed the clecoes and filled the holes with the resin flox
mixture. I also filled the open at the
topof the air intake oval. I filled the
holes in the bottom of the lower cowling where it attaches to the lower
fuselage. I am going to put a layer of
fiberglass on the inside of these attachment points and then redrill the holes. I also filled 2-ea of the holes in the bottom
of the cowling where it attaches to the cowl bottom close out. I will redrill these holes when the resin
flox mixture is set.
The
last thing I did today was install the compression seal around the cooling duct
transition. I sanded the outer edge of
the transition and then cleaned it off with MEK. I brought a tube of clear silicone sealant
from my shop at home. I cut the compression
seal pieces to length. I also cut some
pieces of scrap wood strips to length so I could us them to clamp the seal to
the transition. I applied the silicone
to the tab on the compression seal and then attached them to the perimeter of
the transition duct. I used ‘C’ clamps
and Vise Grip clamps to hold the compression seal in place while the silicone caulk
sets up. I also cut a small strip of
aluminum to support and hold the compression seal as it went around the rounded
corner of the transition duct. I will
leave it this way until I return to the hangar tomorrow afternoon.
