Lower Engine Cowling, Part 3 - SURGERY!

What happens when you order avionics and you have from 1 to 3 weeks on your hands?  You get creative.  I have been tempted for a while now to rid the lower cowl of the "lower shelf" that was a fairly unflattering attribute of this first generation Viking RV-12 cowl.  Add to that Jan Eggenfellner's assertion that you can increase the speed of your RV if you remove it....so I did.

  And I removed some more!  I am going to get a more traditional look from the lower cowl and completely eliminate the remnant of the lower shelf.

Okay, so now there's a gaping hole in the bottom of the lower cowl - now what?  Install some foam, sand to the desired shape and glass it in.

A nicer, cleaner profile results from the surgery.  What remains to be seen is if my new section of cowling will blend in nicely with the existing configuration.

A better shot of the profile revealing the extent of the section to be replaced and incorporated with the original.

Went to Michaels Aviation Store (hobby and crafts, actually) and purchased some manly "floral foam" and went to work cutting the shape on the bandsaw and then "foaming" it into place as shown below.

Here is the bottom exterior shot where the new glass will be laid up.  I have no real idea what I am up against.  It seems too flat, so I will probably try adding another layer to add some curvature to it...but first, there is a lot of sanding to do.  More later.

After some time sanding the floral foam to the desire shape, I then laid a generous coating of carnuba-based automotive wax to the "mold".   A little time to cure and then the layup of 2 layers of glass cloth, followed by the peel ply and we'll see what happens.

The peel ply does its thing, leaving a pretty nice surface to finish off.

The resulting final shape of the lower cowl is now to my liking.  Flight testing the capability of the engine cooling will be required to know how much of the exit ramp to trim off.  Until then, I am pronouncing the lower cowl done!