Upper Cowl to Windshield Skirt Fit

[Spaceman]

Howdy guys,

I'm working on my cowl. The lower cowl went on and fit well with pretty minimal effort, which was awesome, and now I'm working on the upper cowl. For the most part it also fit pretty great right out of the box, EXCEPT where it slides under the windshield skirt.

I think the problem is the front edge/flange of the skirt is a little bigger than the cowl so it doesn't sit flat against the fiberglass.

I noticed the skirt didn't really sit totally flat on top the of the firewall in the center back when I installed the upper firewall, so I figured I'd have to address it somehow when I got to the cowl. Now that the cowl is on it's a lot more obvious though!

Has anyone else run into this and found a good method to fix it? I definitely need to make the center of the windshield skirt flange come down, so I'm thinking maybe cut through the little strip in front of the fuel door so the two sides can come down to the top of the firewall, and then remove whatever material overlaps so it lines up again. Any other better way to do it?

Here's a photo. It looks bad but I think it's only about half as bad as it looks. The middle of the windshield skirt bulges slightly above the top of the firewall, and the cowl sits slightly below the firewall in the center since there's nothing holding it up in the center yet. I guess I just need them to meet in the middle.

[Spaceman]

Also, this is much less egregious but I think all stems from the same issue that the windshield skirt is a tiny bit larger than the cowl, but I ended up with a couple small bulges at each corner where it goes around the curved part. I'm not sure what, if anything, I can do about that!

[Area 51%]

Do you have any kind of anti-chafe tape between the cowl and firewall flange? I needed to use the thickest stuff I could find to get the cowl to match up to the windscreen.

I have a Legacy so this may not apply.

[Spaceman]

Do you have any kind of anti-chafe tape between the cowl and firewall flange? I needed to use the thickest stuff I could find to get the cowl to match up to the windscreen.

I have a Legacy so this may not apply.

Not yet but that's on my shopping list! That will probably help with the smaller little bulges I guess, I hadn't though of it that way. What did you end up using? It's on my list but I haven't even gone looking for it yet

[Rick524]

Hi Chris, on my legacy Sonex, I used a strip of black gorilla tape on the ledge that the cowl sits on.
It has been there for two years and looks and stands up fine.

Rick
Sonex 524
C-GRIX

[Bryan Cotton]

Hi Chris, on my legacy Sonex, I used a strip of black gorilla tape on the ledge that the cowl sits on.
It has been there for two years and looks and stands up fine.

Rick
Sonex 524
C-GRIX

Me too.

[dirkverdonck]

Hi,
Is the use of a shrinking tool on the edge of the windscreen skirt an option?
I'm not into fitting the cowling yet but I used my shrink tool on the inner contours of the skirt to make it fit better with the windscreen itself.

[Spaceman]

Shrinking tool, I'm not familiar with that one! Like fluting pliers?

[wlarson861]

https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q= ... 0stretcher

[Paul Johnson]

Howdy guys,

I'm working on my cowl. The lower cowl went on and fit well with pretty minimal effort, which was awesome, and now I'm working on the upper cowl. For the most part it also fit pretty great right out of the box, EXCEPT where it slides under the windshield skirt.

I think the problem is the front edge/flange of the skirt is a little bigger than the cowl so it doesn't sit flat against the fiberglass.

I noticed the skirt didn't really sit totally flat on top the of the firewall in the center back when I installed the upper firewall, so I figured I'd have to address it somehow when I got to the cowl. Now that the cowl is on it's a lot more obvious though!

Has anyone else run into this and found a good method to fix it? I definitely need to make the center of the windshield skirt flange come down, so I'm thinking maybe cut through the little strip in front of the fuel door so the two sides can come down to the top of the firewall, and then remove whatever material overlaps so it lines up again. Any other better way to do it?

Here's a photo. It looks bad but I think it's only about half as bad as it looks. The middle of the windshield skirt bulges slightly above the top of the firewall, and the cowl sits slightly below the firewall in the center since there's nothing holding it up in the center yet. I guess I just need them to meet in the middle.

Hi Spaceman,

I know this is a bit of a thread drift but could you tell me the diameter of the wooden disc that is simulating the spinner rear plate.

Regards

Paul Johnson.