Cowl paint gap
I spent the evening working on making a nice, even paint gap between the cowl halves and between the cowl and the fuselage. The top part of cowl was pretty easy. The gap along the top worked out about perfect without touching it. I had no gap when I drilled, but the smaller hinge pin along the top lets the cowl pull away slightly.
The bottom part of the cowl was more troublesome. As I made the gap larger along the bottom, the cowl sagged more. I now have 1/4″ sag at the nose. I started with 3/32″. Some sag is good as the engine apparently settles in the engine mounts after running for a while. But 1/4″ is more than I wanted. If it ends up being a problem I can always add and sculpt some filler along the top of the cowl to match the spinner.
Vans instructions should really recommend pre-loading the hinges. There is so much slop in the hinges that the whole cowl is able to move around quite a bit. Pre-loading the hinges in just the right directions would solve that problem. For example, pull the hinge along top as far forward as possible before drilling. Maybe secure it with some tape. Along the horizontal seams, pull the bottom half of the hinge forward. The bottom hinges should be pulled back.
I think it’s easy to get obsessed trying to get the perfect gap. In reality the whole cowl moves around quite a bit with the hinge slop. I’m going to work on it a little more and then call it good enough.