got started installing the engine cowl.  i’m going with the james cowl, and i’m excited to have it out of my bedroom.  i’m using milspec fasteners for the whole thing, and it kind of sets off a sort of chicken and egg scenario.  first, you have to make the aluminum strip for the fasteners, then you fit the cowl, then you scratch your head about everything.  at least you do if you’re me.  it’s not really that big of a deal, but it takes some doing to lay out the fastener locations, and i’m trying like heck not to screw it up.  what i ended up doing is using little strips of aluminum clecoed to the forward fuse to sort of sandwich the aft end of the cowl between the fastener mounting strip, so that i could put off drilling the locations of the fasteners till i got the fit closer.  i wasn’t really sure where the parting line of the cowl would end up, so i wanted to put off drilling for as long as possible.  the only trouble with fitting the cowl that way is that the fit is just a little different every time you pull the cowl off and on, and it makes you nuts.  in the end, i got my friends stan & taz to bring over their son kael to help, and everything went much smoother from there on.  i’m still not done, but i’m getting there.  funny, i used to pish posh at people who cried about pulling the cowl off and on with a 3 blade propeller.  hehe.  now i know what they’re talking about.  it’s harder.  i’d pull it off, but i don’t trust myself to get the fit right without it there, so i built a super high tech propeller protector.  yup.  now i can bang around all i want.  sort of.  carefully...  so i’m not quite finished with this, but i’m getting there.  harrumph.  fiberglass.  it’s like voodoo.  except lamer.