Well, at least SOME good can come out of a Launch Delay?..
I was supposed to be working all weekend, but due to circumstances beyond our control (did you know that preflight inspections sometimes mean that the airplane shouldn?t be flown today?), I got to spend all day in the shop. Since Louise has to go out of town for business on Sunday for the week, we figured that next weekend we?d find time to try the engine on again after making some corrections from the last fitting. But instead, the stars aligned, we ran out of other things to do, and a few friends were available that wanted to come by and ?do something on the airplane??so we surprised everyone (including ourselves), and hung the engine!
Last week, I suggested that Louise go through the ?Illustrated Guide to Engine Hanging? that is posted on the VAF home page, to familiarize herself with the process of shoe-horning a Lycoming onto a Dynafocal mount. She did her homework, and acted as Assembly Coordinator (?Though Shalt NOT pry upon the rubber LORD Mount?.!?) throughout the event ? which lasted just shy of 40 minutes from rolling the engine up to the airframe to having the last bolt in place. I have hung a number of engines in my life and this one was the easiest in memory ? the process as outlined in the ?Guide? really works. We had six folks on hand, but it really only took a few hands on each bolt to get them lined up ? although everyone?s help was appreciated, and extra eyes (and folks to run for tools) are a real benefit.
In reviewing the pictures from today, this has got to be my favorite:
Just cries out for a caption, like ?OK, does everyone have their fingers out of the way before I let this thing down?!? This was the last bolt ? the toughest one to get lined up ? and when we got it in about ten seconds, I shouted ?hold what you?ve got!? while I got the bolt shoved in place.
It?s a real pleasure to take the weight off the hoist and see that everything fits and the tail has stayed on the ground:
Junior is now back in his building spot, and the Firewall Forward phase can begin!
A few random thoughts:
1) The order of bolts used in the guide? worked out great ? the real key to me was using the hoist to create enough space between the engine and the engine mount for the LORD donut to move while getting the bolt started in the engine hole. Once you get the bolt started, turning it pulled things in, and dropped the donut into the mount.
2) 50 lbs of lead shot in the last fuselage bay in front of the tail gave us plenty of weight to keep the RV-3 sitting on the tail wheel.
3) WARNING! Make sure you have the tail supported on the fuselage , and not the tail wheel until you have the vertical stabilizer installed!! Otherwise, the tail wheel mount will start to bend the aft-most bulkhead. We caught it just in time?.
4) It pays to go over the drawing s a couple of times, and label the various big washers with a Sharpie. Have several people verify the installation order of washers and donuts for each corner. Check and double-check.
The test fit a couple of weeks ago was invaluable ? it helped us get things set up on the back of the engine for the real mounting party. Check prop governor controls, oil filter mounts, etc to make sure you have enough room. And take the time to get all the fittings for fuel and oil installed first.
We?re looking forward to ?fun with plumbing? in the next few weeks. Many thanks from myself and Louise go out to ?The Other Doug Reeves? and his father Les, neighbor and F-1 builder/pilot Dave Forster, and future RV-owner Carl Martin (who took all the pictures). It was a great way to spend a windy Saturday!
Paul
I was supposed to be working all weekend, but due to circumstances beyond our control (did you know that preflight inspections sometimes mean that the airplane shouldn?t be flown today?), I got to spend all day in the shop. Since Louise has to go out of town for business on Sunday for the week, we figured that next weekend we?d find time to try the engine on again after making some corrections from the last fitting. But instead, the stars aligned, we ran out of other things to do, and a few friends were available that wanted to come by and ?do something on the airplane??so we surprised everyone (including ourselves), and hung the engine!
Last week, I suggested that Louise go through the ?Illustrated Guide to Engine Hanging? that is posted on the VAF home page, to familiarize herself with the process of shoe-horning a Lycoming onto a Dynafocal mount. She did her homework, and acted as Assembly Coordinator (?Though Shalt NOT pry upon the rubber LORD Mount?.!?) throughout the event ? which lasted just shy of 40 minutes from rolling the engine up to the airframe to having the last bolt in place. I have hung a number of engines in my life and this one was the easiest in memory ? the process as outlined in the ?Guide? really works. We had six folks on hand, but it really only took a few hands on each bolt to get them lined up ? although everyone?s help was appreciated, and extra eyes (and folks to run for tools) are a real benefit.
In reviewing the pictures from today, this has got to be my favorite:
Just cries out for a caption, like ?OK, does everyone have their fingers out of the way before I let this thing down?!? This was the last bolt ? the toughest one to get lined up ? and when we got it in about ten seconds, I shouted ?hold what you?ve got!? while I got the bolt shoved in place.
It?s a real pleasure to take the weight off the hoist and see that everything fits and the tail has stayed on the ground:
Junior is now back in his building spot, and the Firewall Forward phase can begin!
A few random thoughts:
1) The order of bolts used in the guide? worked out great ? the real key to me was using the hoist to create enough space between the engine and the engine mount for the LORD donut to move while getting the bolt started in the engine hole. Once you get the bolt started, turning it pulled things in, and dropped the donut into the mount.
2) 50 lbs of lead shot in the last fuselage bay in front of the tail gave us plenty of weight to keep the RV-3 sitting on the tail wheel.
3) WARNING! Make sure you have the tail supported on the fuselage , and not the tail wheel until you have the vertical stabilizer installed!! Otherwise, the tail wheel mount will start to bend the aft-most bulkhead. We caught it just in time?.
4) It pays to go over the drawing s a couple of times, and label the various big washers with a Sharpie. Have several people verify the installation order of washers and donuts for each corner. Check and double-check.
The test fit a couple of weeks ago was invaluable ? it helped us get things set up on the back of the engine for the real mounting party. Check prop governor controls, oil filter mounts, etc to make sure you have enough room. And take the time to get all the fittings for fuel and oil installed first.
We?re looking forward to ?fun with plumbing? in the next few weeks. Many thanks from myself and Louise go out to ?The Other Doug Reeves? and his father Les, neighbor and F-1 builder/pilot Dave Forster, and future RV-owner Carl Martin (who took all the pictures). It was a great way to spend a windy Saturday!
Paul
