Got the DLE-35ra engine mounted and did the first run.
This is the most well-behaved engine I've ever seen. This one is #5 for me and they all ran great.
The engine was pretty "dry", and rough to turn, it felt like bad bearings. I added about six drops of oil to the cylinder with the plug out. Spun it for a few seconds with the electric starter. It loosened up okay.
Changed the plug to the CM-6. Will use the DLE plug for a fishing weight as usual.
Checked the timing before the run and it was set at 35 Deg BTDC, I don't like that much advance, so I set it to 30 D BTDC. The 46 Deg BTDC in the manual is a joke. I would like to see the video of them doing it. I set the H and L needles for 1.5 turns.
For the first start, I primed the carb with a few drops of fuel, then hand flipped the prop a few times with the ignition OFF, switched it ON and the engine started with four flips of the prop. I ran it for 10 min., mostly at the mid range and it never died even at a pretty low idle.
I'll do two more 10 min. engine runs, then adjust the carb and fly. Monday looks like a good day.
Something struck me the other day when I was bolting on the wings. Since there is no stagger between the top and bottom wing, this plane will not have a CG change if it is flown with the top wing off. Same with the bottom wing.
Later, after I'm used to the plane and the new plane smell is gone I'll try flying it as a low-wing monoplane, then as a parasol wing style plane. I'll need to see if the plane can turn without ailerons first since the top wing doesn't have them.