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This is the cowling I received with the boat when I bought it
off ebay. I have riveted some metal tabs on it so that I
could screw it together to see how it would fit on the
fuselage. I also cut a slot for the nose wheel. It does have
some hanger rash but nothing too serious.

You will also notice that this cowling has cheeks which are
not necessary and I don't like their looks. Below you can
see this cowling is set up for a 10 inch spinner but I
propped the cowling up on the engine to the approximate
height of a 12 inch spinner. The ring gear extends about 3
inches past the end of the cowl.  The ring gear will be
about 1 inch from the firewall.

At this time I still have the long oil filler tube and the cowling
is sitting on it so with the tube shortened the cowling will sit
lower over the engine. There still seems to be plenty of
clearance on each side of the cowling to eliminate the
cheeks.

1/26/05 Today I received Mark Langford's cowling molds from Ray Fuenzalida.
I unpacked them and checked for fit on my engine. My engine is on a engine
stand with a false firewall. They seemed to fit very well to the firewall and the
distance to the prop hub is also good.

I began the process of making engine cowlings from
the molds by washing the molds with soapy water. I
will be using partall #2 and #10 which I got from Wicks.
#2 is a paste wax and #10 is a spray or brush on liquid.

This picture is for
Mike Hyers.

Two layers of carbon fiber laid out in the molds ready
to be wet out. I had six yards of carbon fiber and used
all but some small remnants. The cloth was not wide
enough to cover the mold with one piece so it had to
be patched together. I used paper clips to hold the
fiber on the edges.

Below My epoxy
mixer and lay-up
assistant Sandy.
Also my wife for
almost 40 years.

The carbon fiber has been wet out. The hardest part was keeping
the fiber laying on the mold while wetting out. Where the mold
bends, it is easy to get voids or air bubbles. This is true with any
concave surface. On the right are two 500 watt halogen lights which
will keep it warm all night. I'm also running the heat in the garage
tonight because its turning colder.

Just popped the cowling out of the molds and couldn't resist trying them
on. They are taped together and I'm holding them on the nose of the
plane. I'll try to get some better pictures as soon as weather permits.