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Build Diary

Firewall Forward Section

 


Fitting the engine mount gave me a bit of drama, as the four engine attachment points were about 3/16" too far forward.  I used a friend's laser level that has an in-built 'plum bob' and provides a vertical and horizontal beam.  Using the laser ensured that the datum point directly under the forward lower corner of the fuselage, and the vertical reference point forward of that datum point (+ 22 13/16") were spot on.  The mount was set right back against the attachment brackets, so there was nowhere to go in that regard.  Other builders who have experienced something similar have either filed some of the metal from the rear of the engine mount or not worried about the engine being a little forward of where it should be.  I was a bit bummed that it didn't fit as it should, but soon got over it and worked on the tail wheel assembly while awaiting advice from Sonex.
 
Technical advice from Sonex  set my mind at ease - 3/16" wasn't going to make a lick of difference, as long as the engine mount had enough space for the bolts, all was good.  With this behind me, I set to work on the undercarriage.
 
Other builders have highlighted the fact that drilling the titanium rods really heats up the drill bits – I confirm their sentiments.  The tail wheel rod took me a fair while, so I bought a couple of new cobalt drill bits for the main legs.  These proved really excellent and I powered through the rods with no dramas.  I decided to follow Jeff Shultz's method of drilling the axle mounts first, setting the toe-in, and then drilling the engine mount hole last.  The reason is that the legs sit quite firmly in the engine mounts and will not move nearly as much as the axle, which is a fairly loose fit.  The engine mount hole has a protruding tube that acts as a drill guide, thus guaranteeing a nice, straight hole through the leg.    
 
The wheels came together really well and lined up through the middle nicely.  I applied talcum powder to the tube and inner tyre, and inflated them both to 35 psi.  I'll wait until later to bump this up to the recommended 50psi that the instructions call for.
 
More later.......
 

 

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