Hi,
Yes the battery certainly can be changed without removing the cowl. During my early flights of the Razor I simply found it less fiddly to remove the canopy in order to fit the battery. However, over time I did manage to crack the canopy by trying to force it over the skids rather than taking my time and making sure every thing was lined up correctly.
My son Bradley told me off for this and forced me to buy a replacement canopy to restore the model to it's former glory. Kids hey ?
Still flying and enjoying the Razor by the way and I have a nice semi scale fuselage to fit when I get chance.
Colin Fretwell.