Hobby On RC Blog

Building a custom Cowl

In this write up I will show you how to make your own custom cowl.  This cowl will be stronger than the cowls you will find in typical ARF and kits. 

You will need an empty 2 liter bottle and a chunk of wood.

First, your plane/fuselage will need to be pretty much complete.  In this write up I will be using an old bed post as this will be the correct size. 

 Next you will need to draw some dimensions on the shape of cowl you will need.  Be prepared to have a few chunks of wood as you may mess up your first couple of tries.  Using a sander will help with this job.  Begin shaping the cowl how you wish. 

Using the motor begin to really pay close attention on where the motor will sit under the cowl.  Be sure to leave enough room for the cowl to overlap the front of the plane.  You will need this to mount the cowl to the plane.

Notice the cowl and motor placement in the pictures.  Also, note how I am using a bolt to hold the cowl while working on it.  This helps tremendously.

After the mold is exactly how you want it now it’s time to shrink the pop bottle around it and make the cowl.  Be sure that the cowl has been hand sanded to get out any small bumps.  They will show through the cowl. 

Put a light coat of flour over the mold before placing bottle top on.  This will help removing the bottle later.

Cut the top off the bottle and place over mold.  I use a bench vise as this holds it very will while I shrink it.

Using a heat gun, shrink the bottle so it is completely shrunk around the mold.  An extra set of hands may help here.  Be sure to use gloves and face mask as the bottle may let off harmful fumes.

*I had to do this twice and use another bottle as I messed up.  That’s why the next picture has a green bottle.

After the shrinking is over, use a Dremel tool to cut it out how you wish. 

Now it’s time to Paint and install!!  Save the mold for when you crash and need to build another!