Rob, et al,
I use SS camloc devices from Skybolt. There have been 2
issues:
1. Camloc style fasteners are spring loaded and do not provide a rigid
attachment even though I used a little tighter spacing than the plans called
out. The combined positive pressure in the cooling plenum and the low
pressure over the top of the cowling puts a great upward strain on the
cowling. I have frequently found bug residue in a half inch sliver on the
top face of the cowl because it did not stay in line with the
spinner. I have somewhat resolved this problem
by epoxying small phenolic blocks to the top inside of the
cowling that are stops against the fuselage upper forward deck
joggle leading edge. This has reduced the ability of the cowl to lift
up and slide back on the upper fasteners. Myself and others have had to
reinforce the bottom center most holes in the cowling after in flight strain has
worn those holes.
2. Most of my original Camloc SS fasteners were installed with pinch
washers whose fingers firmly held the camlocs in place in the cowling.
When I replaced these with the Skybolt SS equivalents, the fastener body was
made of much harder SS and the pinch washer fingers could not hold them in
place (could not grip the body). I was forced to use the split washers
that allow the Camlocs to pull back out to the latch pins in the tip and
thus contributing to paint wear and chipping around the holes.
Were I to build another cowling, I would prefer a more rigid set up -
either by making some use of hinge-type fastenings or better and tighter
fasteners (whatever those might be).
Scott Krueger
In a message dated 4/27/2009 6:51:57 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
rwolf99@aol.com writes:
Tw years
ago I asked a group of three aircraft designer / builder / manufacturers which
were the best fasteners to use for my Lancair cowling. These
guys were:
Carsten Sundin (of Lancair fame)
Chuck Harrison
(Composites Universal in Scappoose Oregon)
Mark Bettosini (AirBoss
Aerospace)
They all said the same thing, in unison. "Skybolt
Fasteners"
I have read Brent Regan's discussion of LiveLock fasteners
and I'm certain that they are very good. My recollection was that they
were far more expensive than Skybolt with marginal extra "niceness" (yeah,
that's a technical term...) This is the Tridair offering, is it
not?
As for Camlocs, these are the originals and will certainly do the
job, but I think the Skybolts look nicer. I did not want to save an
insignificant amount of money for something that would be so readily visible
to a non-aviator that was already nervous about riding in my "toy
glued-together airplane". Those types judge the workmanship solely by
the appearance of the paint and interior (we all know better, right?) so I
figured they would benefit from the shiny fastener...
Your mileage may
vary. All of them will work. Read Brent's missive on the Livelocks
in the archives and choose for yourself.
- Rob Wolf
(Cowling
presently held on by clecoes...)