The Cessna 120-140 Association Forum

Has anyone converted their cowl over to quarter turn or dzus fasteners? Boy would it make taking the cowl off easier...

There's an STC utilizing both winged or screw type Dzus fasteners available from http://www.cowllatchstc.com/information.html at
www.taildraggeraviation.com.

Ken and Loraine Morris, great folks and past president of the association.

Thanks for the link Mike. I guess I meant for all the other screws holding on the bottom cowl, not the cowl latches.

Electric screw gun helps, but not much.

Having taken off (and re-installed) about every Cessna cowling ever made ..............countless times. We have a pretty decent lower cowling set up.
The 172's with the rubber mounted quarter turns is a "stretch" every time I deal with them. In fact I just did one today.

I am aware of no other attachment method, other than what we currently have.

I'm not certain what you are trying to accomplish?

A. less wear and tear on cowling?
B. not having loose screws to drop?
C. No loose fasteners?

To rivet onto the cowling the appropriate receptacles would be a significant effort and I"m not certain there is enough "material" there to hold receptacles properly.

Cam-Locs and Dzus fasteners don't tighten down like screws do. I'm not sure how well they'd work with our cowl design. Besides, you could replace all the screws on the cowl for less than the cost of one Cam-loc!

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm just being lazy. My race bikes always had quarter turn fasteners on the fairings and it was handy. I also have a few rivnuts that have compromised thread and I figured "why not" if I have to repair a few.

The "nuts" along the back were originally a strip of Tinnerman nuts. I don't know if they're still available. We used to have a member who had a stash of them, but I'm pretty sure he's no longer with us.

Tinnerman nuts require type "B" screws. When everything is correct they work great. I use a driver-drill and get them in and out pretty easily. Just be sure to use very light torque when reinstalling them. Tighten by hand.