2 Questions about hanging the engine
 

Hi all,

I have 2 questions about hanging the engine on a 7A:

1. Fuselage on the gear or on a saw horse?
2. Put the engine mount on the fuselage 1st or on the engine 1st?

Thanks.

opinion
 

I put mine on gear, built a good padded saw horse support for the tail and put the mount on fues, engine on the old fashioned way using the hanging guide on vaf and worked like a charm. No issues, nothing I would change. ymmv

For my engine, the engine mount was fit and removed from the fuselage. I then lifted the engine and mounted the engine mount to it. Once the bolts were on, I moved the entire thing over to the fuselage and slipped on the engine mount bolts. I like this approach for two reasons. First, you can look through the holes as you try to align the engine with the engine mount. It give you an idea of where to push and twist to get the bolts to line up. Second, you realize how easy it is to remove the entire assembly if you need to get access to something on the firewall.

THE most important thing when hanging the engine, is to make SURE that ALL the bolts are done up to the required torque. If you dont, then cowl fitment may not be what you want because of excess sag. Ask me how I know???:(

I would put the airplane on the gear and bolt the mount to the firewall first. If the mount is not a really good fit to the firewall it will be difficult to bolt up after the engine is installed. Also the engine sometimes requires some 'jiggling' to get the mount bolts in, if the engine is hanging on a crane there is not much to push against.

Pete

I would be extremely cautious about hanging a 300 lb engine onto a fuse sitting on a couple sawhorses.

the center of gravity is going to shift dramatically.

FWIW the final assembly guys at both Cessna and Piper put the mount on the engine, then install the assembly on the fuse.
Which ever way you decide, don't forget to install the oil pressure fitting first. In fact, go ahead and install everything on the accessory case first thing.