40% YAK 54 COWL BEEFUP

[Hinckley Bill]

Just picked up a "slightly" used 40% YAK 54 - Aviation Models (TOC)....overall plane is in very good condition, except for the cowl.

The cowl itself is extremely "thin" in terms of material thickness.....this is especially true around the inner circumference of the front of the cowl, where any more than a little pressure can / will result in the paint / cowl cracking. In addition, it appears that some of the laid up fiberglass on the inside of the cowl is "bubbling" away from the cowl body.

1) Anyone out there with this plane experience the same problem?

2) Any / all solutions you've come up with to "beef up" the cowl without adding a tremendous amount of weight?

I'm thinking of laying up some light weight carbon fiber cloth on the inside of the cowl but would sure like to hear what others have done / might do.

Thanks for your help,

Bill

[SleepyC]

I always thin some epoxy with alcohol and brush it on my cowls in the tender sections,
and even lay a thin strip of glass in the extremely light sections... also paint the thinned epoxy around any place I had to make a cut out. After this.. the cowls usually last longer than my planes.

[Chris Puckett]

Bill I would suggest some carbonfiber strips around the inside of the cowl. Make sure you clean the inside of the cowl real well then us a good slower cure epoxy.