swampyankee

A simple one, really, for those with more experaince than me (98% of the readers here probably).
How far can I build up my fuselage before I need the engine in hand to finish it (the fuse)? I know which engine I want to use, but the way it looks now I'm going to have all the bulkheads cut out before I'm anywhere near ready to lay down the cash for the engine.
Thanks.

F4u5

My Feedback: (81)

All you need to do is set the firewall dimension to have the prop clear the cowl (if you have one). Mark the vertical and horizontal cross hair lines for mounting the motor on the thrust line. After that, you can completely build the fuse and mount the motor after it is all done. Just be sure you can get your hand in to mount the blind nuts for holding the engine...or what ever fasteners you choose to mount the engine. If you know the engine mount pattern, it helps to drill and install blind nuts first (before the build).

Jeff

Skratchbilt

My Feedback: (6)

Exactly right. Be sure to epoxy those blind nuts in as well. There's nothing more aggravating than to accidently push one back into a finished fuselage!

swampyankee

Thanks guys,

But for marking the mounting holes on the firewall wouldn't I need a template of the mounting holes on the engine side? What I mean is if I was able to get the engine demensions (Dean at Meister said a Moki 150 would fit the Meister Zero) and know the engine will fit without any additional fiddling with the engine space I would still need to know the mounting pattern on the engine in order to set the blind nuts in their proper locations. Or am I missing something here?

Skratchbilt

My Feedback: (6)

I built my fuselage entirely, excluding installing the fuel tank, until the engine I would use was purchased. Did the firewall/mount drilling at the field, as the engine was purchased from a fellow member. The cavity for the fuel tank was sufficient to get my hands into for setting the blind nuts. This is where the statement on aggravations comes in. I eventually learned to apply some five minute epoxy to the flat toothy part of the blind nuts, and thread the mount bolts through, and tight.

If you are sure of your engine choice, you should be able to acquire the neccessary dimensions from the dealer to allow the holes to be drilled, etc..
However, unless you also know what the engine configuration will be, within the cowl, it still may need to wait until the unit is in your possession.

Avaiojet

I would build a sliding box fitted into the firewall and a second firewall to support it.

Not difficult to do, and engine choices could be changed easily.

I'm scratching a 1/5 model of the F3F-1, with this same application.

Charles