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Little bits go bye-bye

I didn't mention it in my earlier post but, after I went flying with my father, I noticed that I was missing one of the cowl fasteners as I was putting the plane away. It's position is just in front of the windshield as it curves on the left side, and holds the cowl to the airframe. This is not uncommon with older planes like mine and isn't a big deal if it's only one or two since they're numerous enough to keep the cowl secure. Last week, a couple days before my flight to Willapa Harbor, I went out to the airport to see if I could get a replacement. I took a couple of pictures of the existing fasteners, and also took a couple of them out so I could take them with me over to the shop to serve as examples.

At issue is that there are a couple of different types on my plane. They are all of the camlock type; most have a single slot for use with a flathead screwdriver, but some of them have Phillips heads. Most have a small flange that they fit into, but a few have a larger flange. It was clear that the missing fastener had a larger flange. The hole in the cowl was clearly larger than it had been when manufactured so a larger flange had become necessary.

On that day, there weren't any mechanics on site, just the fellow working the front desk. He went through what they had and we think we found the right one, but the camlock fastener and the flange come separately and you can't just fit the camlock through the flange. There's a special pair of pliers that you need and he didn't know where it was. So I decided to wait until later. The flight to Willapa Harbor and back was made with the fastener missing.

Today I went out to the airport in the afternoon to try again. This time I looked a little closer and realized that most of the fasteners with a larger flange didn't actually have a larger flange. They had a washer between the flange and the cowl surface. There is one that actually has a larger flange but it's the only one I've observed. I also noticed that another camlock was missing, though the flange was still there and it is normal size. I took one of the others that has a washer, and the one with the actual larger flange, with me to the shop. Both of them also happen to have Phillips heads, as do the rest of those with washers.

This time, Preston the shop manager was there and he was able to set me up. He recommended I get new ones with Phillips heads. So I got one with a flange and one without, and he found a washer that would work. I borrowed his special pliers and walked back over to my hangar to install them, and replace the ones I had removed and taken with me.

The one with the washer went right in and appears to fit just great. It fits exactly the same as the one right next to it, which also has a washer. The other one, which I inserted into the existing flange, didn't fit as well. I was able to get it to lock, but it was really tight. I walked back over to the shop and let Preston know. He said I needed a larger one, so he gave me the next size up and I walked back over, removed the tight one, and installed the larger one. It fit perfectly. I took the small one and the pliers back to Preston, and then I was all done.

Sizing of these camlocks is pretty straightforward. All of the ones that hold the cowl to the fuselage are size 5, and the ones that hold the top half of the cowl to the bottom are size 6. He had originally given me two size 5 camlocks and the second one needed to be a 6. Now that I know that, I'll know what size to request if I need any in the future.

Here are the photos I took last week. The first is the one with the actual large flange and a Phillips head. The second is one with a normal flange and slot head that I unlocked. The third is the same as the second except it's locked.





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