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Flight Without Cowling

MVPILOT

Well Known Member
I am wondering if it is "safe" to make a 20 mile x 2 flight without my upper and lower cowling on the RV-12 iS? Has anyone done this? I'm thinking that if I removed the cowlings, flew it to the 25 hour service and back where I would reinstall the cowlings that the plane may end up with fewer chips.
 
No

Don’t do it .

Was it tested that way in phase one? Would it meet the consensus standard for certification. Would your insurance cover it? Would an FAA inspector be amused if he saw it?
 
You really gotta let go of your "chip" phobia. The RV-12 is a great airplane to fly and utilize as it was designed. Chips, dings, scratches, and smudges will occur -- think of it as aeronautical patina. :)
 
Chips are unavoidable and ubiquitous.

Touch up paint are what chips are made for!

It gives touch up paint a "raison d'etre"
 
I would not do it. What will hold the oil cooler in position?
What about carburetor ice?
What about other things that can go wrong that nobody knows about until experimenting?
Sometimes it is easier to go ahead and do it the hard way to start with.
 
I am wondering if it is "safe" to make a 20 mile x 2 flight without my upper and lower cowling on the RV-12 iS? I would reinstall the cowlings that the plane may end up with fewer chips.

That's a wild one for sure...
 
Claude, I give you credit for asking rather than attempting this.

But you've had lots better ideas in your life than this. The other people who responded have it right - don't do it.

Dave
 
+1 on don't do it.

As for chips and dings -- I have plenty, they're my battle scars and I'm proud of 'em. As in, "See that long dent down there near the bottom of the rudder? Yeah, that's from a big-un that got kicked up when I put 'er down on some crummy strip up in Canada, turned out it wasn't an airstrip at all, it was a gravel quarry!"
 
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Claude, I give you credit for asking rather than attempting this.

But you've had lots better ideas in your life than this. The other people who responded have it right - don't do it.

Dave

I was under the assumption, if you don't know, ask.... ;-) Thanks so now I know.
 
I am wondering if it is "safe" to make a 20 mile x 2 flight without my upper and lower cowling on the RV-12 iS? Has anyone done this? I'm thinking that if I removed the cowlings, flew it to the 25 hour service and back where I would reinstall the cowlings that the plane may end up with fewer chips.

Have you ever seen an airplane fly without a cowl? There is probably a reason you have not, and potentially more than one reason.
 
Aeronautical Patina

You really gotta let go of your "chip" phobia. The RV-12 is a great airplane to fly and utilize as it was designed. Chips, dings, scratches, and smudges will occur -- think of it as aeronautical patina. :)

May I please have permission to utilize this phrase? It is brilliant!!!!!!!
 
Have you ever seen an airplane fly without a cowl? There is probably a reason you have not, and potentially more than one reason.

I had a J3-Cub for 23 years. It came from the factory with most of the cowling missing...:D
 
Have you ever seen an airplane fly without a cowl? There is probably a reason you have not, and potentially more than one reason.

Years and years (and years...) ago, we’d fly our J-3 without the cowl when doing carb work/tuning. The airplane didn't seem to care or know the difference....but its no RV (of any kind) and The cowl really just enclosed the crankcase and sump anyway.....;)

And no - I certainly wouldn’t do it in an RV!

Paul
 
The better question is what do you gain? You have to take the cowl off somewhere. Whether you take it off before the flight or after doesn't matter, does it? If you are worried about someone else taking it off, just about anyone you work with will let you do it. If you're using Jim at Aircore I'm sure he'll let you do it yourself.
 
Here’s a little different spin. This is a new build. What if something goes wrong even unrelated to the cowling but results in an insurance claim? My guess is your insurance company would be very skeptical that you were operating in a safe and careful manner. You might end up in a legal battle over any claim.

A guy I know made a flight one week after his medical expired and had a fuel line break in flight resulting in an off airport emergency landing in rugged terrain that caused the aircraft to be totaled. He renewed his medical right after the accident with no issue, but the insurance company managed to avoid paying the claim even after a year of litigation. It’s always best to be squeaky clean.
 
I am with Steve Rush here. Talk to your inspection shop and see if they will allow you to decowl and then recowl the engine yourself when you deliver it and pick it up, respectively. Under their supervision naturally (they have to sign off the inspection after all). I know I would like that from a customer because that puts the liability on the customer when it comes to scratches or anything else untoward with respect to the cowl. And if you do scratch it yourself at least it was you and not a third party. Along those lines I would take some green painter's tape and place it on cowling surfaces that are more likely to get scratched or rub on other structure during installation and removal. Places like on the nose bowl right behind the spinner where the painted nose bowl can have strong contact with the spinner when working the cowl on and off. Or along the boot cowl immeidately behind the firewall where the cowl can overlap before being pinned or camlock'ed in place.
 
I wouldn't

Back in my young and stupid days, I attempted a "quick trip around the patch" after an annual on my 7AC Champ without the cowl. Lost all rudder control on the takeoff run due to the effect of the engine and the blunt firewall. I saved it....but I'll never do that experiment again!
Just sayin'
 
That cowling is a tight fit around the Rotax engine, by design. It keeps the air warm inside, all the time, such that RV-12's, by design, don't have carb heat, or a need to worry about the carburetors icing in high humidity conditions.

Keep the cowling on, at all times, while flying, for this reason. Iced carbs is a dangerous situation.
 
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