I'm looking for references on shops or individuals in the Midwest that can do cowling repairs on a '73 A185F lower cowling.

The airplane has had some damage that has not been repaired correctly and will likely need some TLC in the near future. The left and right hand lower side skins will need to be repaired or replaced, as will various other pieces.

I've talked to Beegles, BAS Parts, etc., but I'm also looking for other craftsmen that are good with repairs like this.

Send your suggestions.

A few years ago I was told by a gentleman who does high quality rebuilds of 180/185 and L19 that he sends cowlings to Skywagon City rather than doing them himself. He said that Skywagon City could form the skins on an english wheel and had a jig for assembly. I have not personally seen their work but may be worth a call.

Tim

Any reason for not using the two you mentioned? Cost or availability?

Flying Dave wrote:Any reason for not using the two you mentioned? Cost or availability?

It's mostly a cost consideration. The skins for Cessna 185 cowlings are notoriously expensive, and then you have labor, paint, etc. Talking with Scott at Beegles, a "new" cowling (the whole thing, starting from scratch) from Cessna will run upwards of $25,000(!).

BAS Parts has a lower cowling for sale on eBay for $6,000, but it has damage to the front bowl as well. So it would have to match the fastener holes on my airplane, fix the damage and then prep/paint to match my airplane. So you're probably looking at $10,000 to adapt a used part, and that's if everything fits right from the beginning.

There's also the Selkirk fiberglass option, but that's going to run about $10,000 just for the parts.

If there is a local fabricator that can replicate skins from scratch it may save a bit on the parts cost.

I'm not ruling out some strategically placed patches, either.

Here are some pictures from the problem areas. The crack at the rivet line got my attention, and looking at the inside of the cowling, there are going to be more problems like this popping up soon.

I had a birdstrike repair a few months ago by Aviation BL near Montreal for under $3k USD. They have an old guy there who’s an artist with the English wheel. He was able to bring it back good as new without even cracking the paint. The shop quoted me about an additional $1,500 if they had to have make new skins.
I had also gotten an estimate from Scott at Beegles that was pricey. But to be fair, he was basing it on photos.

Here’s the finished work. No new skins needed.

Give David at Aero Specialties in Foley, MN a call. (320) 968-6504. He and his brother run a sheet metal shop and specialize in Cessna re-skinning. They did the horizontal stab and elevators on my 180 last year after hail damage, as well as baffling and seat rails. They do beautiful work and are very reasonable. Although I hope to never need their services again, I would definitely use them and recommend them. They are craftsmen.

That's impressive, Mudwagon. That's exactly what I'm looking for. Those tradesmen that are masters in their craft and can build anything.

Not taking anything away from Beegles, they're good and if I was into anything structural I would lean on them more.

I'll give David a call, Upnorth. One thing I learned buying my airplane and having some pre-buy work done by Beegles is that freight can be a significant cost to consider. Foley, MN is a bit closer to KC than Montreal and would be cheaper to ship (or I could fly there and leave the airplane if needed).

Mudwagon wrote:Here’s the finished work. No new skins needed.

That came out great!

Have you thought of Selkirk with their composite whole cowl or maybe pieces?

Mudwagon wrote:Here’s the finished work. No new skins needed.

JUst noticed that it looks like all the rivets on the entire assembly are new.
So I'm guessing they took the whole assembly down to it's separate components,
reformed those pieces that required it, and reassembled.
Some might object, but I actually like all the unpainted rivets on the painted cowl.
It's got that cool industrial look....and no, I'm not being sarcastic.

Agree
Looks badass

25k? Yeow....

Some days I wish we had bought a J3...

Flying Dave wrote:25k? Yeow....

Some days I wish we had bought a J3...

After I parked a Cessna 185 on a mountainside, the wreck was brought to town, and auctioned off. It was a mess, lots of bent parts.

The gent who bought it owned the big Aircraft salvage Co. In Omsk, WA. I visited with him while he’s was disassembling it in our Hangar for transport. He’d paid $26 K for the wreck. I asked him if it was actually worth that much. His response was, “See that cowling? It is pristine and in excellent shape. Check the price of a 185 cowl from Cessna....now going for $26,000.”

That was in 1996.

MTV

mtv wrote:After I parked a Cessna 185 on a mountainside, the wreck was brought to town, and auctioned off. It was a mess, lots of bent parts.

The gent who bought it owned the big Aircraft salvage Co. In Omsk, WA. I visited with him while he’s was disassembling it in our Hangar for transport. He’d paid $26 K for the wreck. I asked him if it was actually worth that much. His response was, “See that cowling? It is pristine and in excellent shape. Check the price of a 185 cowl from Cessna....now going for $26,000.”

That was in 1996.

MTV

Back when I was doing a bunch of research on the really expensive parts to look over well when shopping for an airplane and doing the pre-buy, tail group components, spar, corrosion, gear box, etc. were all on the list. Cowling condition was not.

Cowling skins could be a good business for a guy, but the forming process would be very expensive I suspect.

Slippery Wing wrote:

mtv wrote:After I parked a Cessna 185 on a mountainside, the wreck was brought to town, and auctioned off. It was a mess, lots of bent parts.

The gent who bought it owned the big Aircraft salvage Co. In Omsk, WA. I visited with him while he’s was disassembling it in our Hangar for transport. He’d paid $26 K for the wreck. I asked him if it was actually worth that much. His response was, “See that cowling? It is pristine and in excellent shape. Check the price of a 185 cowl from Cessna....now going for $26,000.”

That was in 1996.

MTV

Back when I was doing a bunch of research on the really expensive parts to look over well when shopping for an airplane and doing the pre-buy, tail group components, spar, corrosion, gear box, etc. were all on the list. Cowling condition was not.

Cowling skins could be a good business for a guy, but the forming process would be very expensive I suspect.

Ever price out a door from Cessna? Probably best that you dont...

180Marty wrote:Have you thought of Selkirk with their composite whole cowl or maybe pieces?

I've looked into it. It's about $10,000 for the whole cowl, plus install, prep and paint. So I'd guess about $12-15k once it's all said and done.

They do have individual skins that can mate up with the aluminum pieces, just not the skins I'd need. At this point I have to think a repair would still be cheaper than a replacement.

Slippery Wing wrote:

mtv wrote:After I parked a Cessna 185 on a mountainside, the wreck was brought to town, and auctioned off. It was a mess, lots of bent parts.

The gent who bought it owned the big Aircraft salvage Co. In Omsk, WA. I visited with him while he’s was disassembling it in our Hangar for transport. He’d paid $26 K for the wreck. I asked him if it was actually worth that much. His response was, “See that cowling? It is pristine and in excellent shape. Check the price of a 185 cowl from Cessna....now going for $26,000.”

That was in 1996.

MTV

Back when I was doing a bunch of research on the really expensive parts to look over well when shopping for an airplane and doing the pre-buy, tail group components, spar, corrosion, gear box, etc. were all on the list. Cowling condition was not.

Cowling skins could be a good business for a guy, but the forming process would be very expensive I suspect.

Actually, if a guy is handy with a planishing hammer and English wheel, he could knock them out fairly fast. But try to find a person with those skills these days.

MTV

I live in the center of nascar country. One would think that there would be some good metal guys around here. But not faa approved...

For what it's worth. I had a guy come in to get his cowling on his 180 repaired after another shop had butchered them up. I suggested the Selkirk cowling to him because after all my rework he'd be close to that cost and still have "repaired" cowls. Cracked nose Bowl repairs etc.

I was concerned about suggesting Selkirk cowls because I'd never seen them in person.

They where great. I was expecting 2 days to fit trim fit trim swear.. fit

It was I think 4 hours and most of that was sitting there thinking that I must be missing something because they fit so well.

New cowls sure completed his paint job, and being fiberglass/carbon fiber reinforced they are easy to repair for most shop, if need be.

My 2 cents.

Mike