Apprentice S15e cool cowl - replacement part

thingiverse

On my second flight day, my Apprentice S15e experienced an unexpected rapid descent followed by partial disintegration. The crash, although not severe, was sufficient to damage both the front wheel hinge and the cowl. A replacement cowl from the manufacturer would have cost around 7€ plus shipping for approximately 25 grams of plastic. I thought, why not design it myself? So I did, and here's my own custom version of the cowl. It draws heavily from the original design, with minimal alterations to maintain the plane's distinctive appearance. I added a slight curvature to enhance airflow, although its impact remains uncertain. The new design looks pleasing to me. To create this custom cowl, I used a 0.6mm nozzle and 5% over-extrusion during printing. The final weight was 28 grams, slightly heavier than the original cowl but not bad considering it's missing some parts. If I had printed with a 0.4mm nozzle, the cowl would have been even lighter, potentially making up for its added weight by being nose-heavy to some extent.