Here is a production news update on Nosebowls, part number 4102.
Above a 2007 photo of Lincoln Probst of Canada gives a visual representation of how it feels to complete your own ZenVair 601XL. This photo highlights our 4102 fiberglass Nosebowl, which is painted blue on Lincoln’s plane. The part of the cowl behind the Nosebowl is sheet metal. This plane is now based in Texas.
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Since we built our own 601XL in 2003, we have sold copies of our Nosebowl to builders. While it is most associated with Corvair powered Zenith aircraft, it is actually applicable to many different airframes.
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Over the years, we have had three different Composite guys make the part. The first two make only a dozen or so each, but the great majority of the production run of several hundred parts has been made between 2007 and this year by a friend of ours in Detroit. The were directly shipped from his shop to builders. In the last year, he landed a contract with Boeing and had a hard time keeping up with his existing work. After it because apparent that we were not going to get this to improve, Grace and I stopped by Michigan on our way back from Oshkosh and picked up our molds.
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I already knew where I was taking them. In Jacksonville, 30 miles from our airport is a well known production composite shop that we have worked with before. The key difference between them and our previous suppliers is they are not a small shop, they have about 12 guys working on the shop floor. They have enough production capacity that supplying our needs will not be an issue. The first week they had our molds they made six cowling sets, more than we have been able to get out of our previous supplier in 10 months. We will shortly have all the back orders on this part covered, and move to having them on the shelf in ready supply.
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Above, our Nosebowl molds and master plug on our side lawn last week. We made them more than 10 years ago, but they are in good shape. Our new shop refinished the inside of the molds and set them up for a zero porosity gel coat finish, greatly reducing the builder finish time. They can now simply be scuff sanded and painted with now filler work at all. You can read more about part number 4102 on our catalog page: http://www.flycorvair.com/nosebowl.html
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Above is a 2007 shot of Rick Lindstrom’s 601XL, built in our Edgewater FL hangar. The Nosebowl shown here came from the same molds.
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Doug Stevenson’s CH-750 Stol in California. This is the same Nosebowl on a 750. the plane is powered by a 3,000 cc Corvair.
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Above a 2007 photo of Gordon Alexander’s Pegzair, powered by a large Corvair, also finished on our shop in Edgewater. If you look close, his plane has the same #4102 Nosebowl. Read the story at this link: 3,100cc Corvair in Pegzair
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Above, the flying 2850cc Zenith 750 built by Gary Burdett of Illinois. It has our full complement of Zenith installation components and one of our production engines. This is a good photo of a 4102 Nosebowl on a 750. Read more at this link: Zenith 750 Flying on Corvair Power, Gary Burdett, Illinois
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The 4102 Nosebowl can be fitted to a broad array of Corvair powered planes. Above,a close-up of Jake Jaks’ Junior Ace on the flightline at Sun ‘N Fun 2009. It’s cowling is based on our Nosebowl
