Cowling options

[tonyk628]

I'm shopping for an E/F and just got an email stating that SWTA is out of the mod business... it also looks like ARI is done.  Are my only cowling options for a mid-'60's Mooney the Lasar ($ 2000)or LoPresti($20000)??

[triple8s]

What's involved with putting the OEM on a short body. Not asking about the actually mechanical chores I mean the legalities. I owned a 1965 C model with OEM 201 cowl so I understand fully what must be changed to make it work, really makes for a beautiful short body Mooney. Also wanted fuel injection and always wondered what would be required to put the fuel injection on the parallel valve engine. I've seen it on a Skyhawk and other certified aircraft. When there is an improvement discovered, utilized by the factories on the new models seems to me that after a reasonable time in service it will have proved itself to either be a good thing or bad and if it is a true improvement to safety or function, why the heck is regulation standing in the way of progress? (Eg. Shoulders harness)

[M20F-1968]

I have done the OEM J model cowling on a Vintage Mooney (1968  F).  You can call me at (617) 877-0025 or e-mail me at johnabreda@yahoo.com to discuss.

 

Thanks,

John Breda

[Alan Fox]

Buy my whole airplane , switch cowls , sell my airplane.....It makes perfect sense.....

[tonyk628]

Alan, I'd be happy to buy your airplane... I have an agent who will come look at it... but that was never the hold up...

[KSMooniac]

I would think the OEM J cowl could still be an option IF you can find one, and if you have a friendly FSDO that will approve the modification.  Sabremech here is working on a new production mod for vintage Mooneys, so you might ask him directly about the status.

 

The LASAR cowl enclosure mod is good bang-for-the-buck, even though it won't give you the nicer look of the J cowl.

[Alan Fox]

Alan, I'd be happy to buy your airplane... I have an agent who will come look at it... but that was never the hold up...

Tony , I will sell MY airplane for MY PRICE .....your agent is more than welcome to check it out ,   Happy new year !!!! 

[bdjohn4]

A lot of posts on this subject. 

1) J-cowling on a vintage Mooney: I defer to those who have done it. Heard it was an utter, utter, utter nightmare. I passed.

2) Lopresti: $27k installed. Involves getting all the cowl-flap linkage from a J. Gorgeous, but I passed.

3) ARI: Just spoke with Ed Kimbro today. Looking like a four month wait on cowling mod but if you are interested PM me because we may be able to make a bulk purchase, as several others are interested too. His website is down at the moment. Basically, it is, as I recall about $900 for the fiberglass cowling, a few hundred in baffling, and about 15 hours to install, realistically, plus paint I suppose.  

[Alan Fox]

The Lasar cowl mod works well , and it is unbelievably simple to install , I heard a few horror stories about the ARI mod......

[scottfromiowa]

he already has the lower cowl mod on his Luftwaffe slayer

[TTaylor]

The ARI does require a J spinner and mount, if my memory is correct that adds about $1800

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Sabremech]

I've made the decision to go ahead with my cowling mod. I'm starting with a front section from James Aircraft and his Holy Cowl. It's going to take probably a good years time to get this to an approved STC with other projects I have to complete.

 

 David

 

[scottfromiowa]

I can wait. Super pleased to hear this David! Thanks for the eye candy,

Scott

[tonyk628]

David, that looks AWESOME!

[triple8s]

When do we get a sneak peak ????

[jetdriven]

I've made the decision to go ahead with my cowling mod. I'm starting with a front section from James Aircraft and his Holy Cowl. It's going to take probably a good years time to get this to an approved STC with other projects I have to complete.

 

 David

 

Cowling.JPG

You may want to look at optimizing the cowl inlet area. On a J model the inlets are ~50% too large. Look at the ovation cowls.

[Sabremech]

Good question. As soon as I can get it modified and fit to my other cowling set, I'll install it for more fitting and finishing and some preliminary photos.

 David

[triple8s]

I'm no engineer but I believe and have also read that the outlets for cooling air helps to pull the air out from the bottom on the "O" and also you gotta watch the temp when setting with your @ss into the wind waiting in line for take off on the hot summer days.

[jetdriven]

It's the same in a J. We watched the CHT climb to 390 and 400 while waiting for takeoff in 30 knot winds one day. On the O it's oil temp. But the O cowl is far more optimized for drag than the J cowling. If I were to scratch build one, I'd start by cutting the inlet area in half. Long EZs cool an O-320 with 2 SQIN per side.

[carusoam]

I second the idea to get a good look at the O...

(1) small openings are effective....

(2) no cowl flaps.....Exit air is ducted out around the exhaust pipes. (I believe)

(3) intake air enters through a NACA duct. (I believe)

(3) plane is fast. (I am sure)

Engine stays cool, no extra work required... Like flying an M20C with fixed cowl flaps...

Just pay attention to the pixie hole discussion. May not apply to an O360 because the generator on the IO550 shields the first, #5, cylinder...

I hope this post is helpful, but don't expect it to contain engineering detail that is required to back up my claims, aka, ymmv!

Photo looks tremendous!

Best regards,

-a-

[Sabremech]

Anyone know the air inlet dimensions on an O?

 

 David

[Oscar Avalle]

I can wait too, but once you have it let us know!!

 

 

You may want to look at optimizing the cowl inlet area. On a J model the inlets are ~50% too large. Look at the ovation cowls.

[triple8s]

I could get the dimensions tomorrow if you like. I had a C model with a J cowl and it had cowl flaps. I LOVED them cause most of the time they can stay closed and never really needed to open them, however, in the hot summer high humidity setting in line with wind up the backside I could open them and set there as long as I wanted. This being said the extra work in designing and building in cowl flaps is definitely significant and an additional cost so if they can be eliminated its a good thing.

[MB65E]

Hi Dave, I'll try and grab some ratios from some of the race guys here in CA. The Lancair 320/360 cowls were an OK size. I thought they could be bigger. They worked, but were temperamental if there was any issues. Oil temp was the primary concern. They were a lot faster than the mooney so I would think they would need to be even bigger on the Mooney. I think a tighter J cowl would be a good start. Having a smooth plenum for cooling while separating the area around the crankshaft I think is important. An SR20 cowling should be about the right size too! They don't have cowl flaps either. Let me know if I can help with anything.

-Matt

[jetdriven]

We flew our plane a few days with a missing upper boot cowl fastener and that story David McGee told me about 250 KIAS and the upper cowling blowing off the airplane sounds real. There is far too much air inlet area for the exit area on a J model. The cowling inflates and expands. At 200 MPH IAS the spot where the missing cowl fastener was, was 1/4" off the boot cowl. There is some serious pressure in the upper cowl, which says to me there is far too much inlet area. Also a crank seal or a leaky front case blows the oil out the front of the cowl. I think all the flow through the spinner gap is reversed. There's a lot of cooling drag that is overlooked with the J cowl and a lot of drag can be eliminated with optimize inlet/exit areas.