[quote:263eb5746d="Bud Yerly"]<xml><xml><endif> Frans, I understand your
question
now.
Not to open a bucket of worms, some are concerned about cockpit stiffness in
this
area in the event of an accident, and my feeling is an enclosed bottom,
reinforced
with 1/8 inch foam and two additional layers of glass, is a light weight
and strong reinforcement for forward cabin stiffness. Next, I prefer not
excessively
cut down the module as the center beam from the engine mount to the
floor and sides is somewhat compromised in the event of a frontal accident.
[/quote:263eb5746d]
I'm not cutting down the cockpit module, I leave it as is. I was talking about
the hole where the nose gears exits the bottom, and the hole you need to have
to allow the gear to extent if the spring (or bungee) stretches. I closed it,
by glassing some plywood under the nosegear assembly. If the spring stretches,
it opens together with the nosewheel frame.
Having made this, I wonder if others have also gone this route, and whether it
indeed is beneficial to do so.
The down side is that your solution, to extent the engine bay in the nosehweel
area, and use the hole as an air exit, is no longer possible. Nice solution by
the way!
I now have the metal firewall in place (its original place) but since I'm going
to redesign the lower cowling anyway it doesn't matter to much.
BTW I'm going to use a propellor with more twist. Besides giving a better cruise
economy, it also provides better cooling. Hope that this will be enough cooling.
Frans
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