Matt's RV-8 Project



Matt Dralle's RV-8 Project
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Date:  1-4-2014
Number of Hours:  2.00
Manual Reference:  
Brief Description:  Remounting Engine & Cowling - Part 01

Well, the time has finally come to move the engine, prop, and cowling from the old fuselage to the shiny new one. All of the wing-related stuff is done now and so the wings came off earlier last week and then it was a day or so of shop rearranging and bringing the old fuselage in along side the new fuselage.

There are 4 bolts that hold the engine mount to the firewall and they came out pretty easy. The Craftsman engine hoist is one of the best investments I've made in my homebuilding tool chest. It was fairly straightforward using the hoist to hold up the engine on the old fuselage, make sure everything was clear and disconnected, then backing the hoist away from the airplane. Well, relatively easy.

After the engine was off the old fuselage, I decided there were a few thing I needed to do to the new fuselage before I put the engine on. I undrilled all of the various hinges that hold the cowling on from the old fuselage, and then riveted or cleco'd them to the new fuselage, definitely easier to do before the engine is mounted. Probably safer too, given that the side skins are now riveted to the firewall. The other thing I wanted to do was rivet the GPS antenna tray to the firewall. As luck would have it, this turned into a giant debacle and I decided to just wait on that after spending most of a morning on it. I need to fab up a .063 backing plate to go on the cabin-side of the firewall, to stiffen things up and to hide some of the smiley's I made with the dimple tool in the firewall. Grrr.

So, at long last, it was time to mount the engine to the new fuselage. How exciting! Seemed like this time was never going to come! It definitely marks a milestone in the rebuild, that is for sure. I'm happy to report that we didn't have any trouble getting it fitted on, or the engine mount holes lined up with the firewall for drilling. Everything just went together nicely.

Cont. Next Log...
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Removing engine from the old fuselage.

Removing engine from the old fuselage.

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Removing engine from the old fuselage.

Removing engine from the old fuselage.

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Removing engine from the old fuselage.

Removing engine from the old fuselage.

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