Flyer Freq

I am finishing up the assembly of my Dragonlady and have been happy with how well it goes together, however, with the 1/4" left of center vertical thrust line and the horizontal thrust line 3-3/4" from the bottom of the fuselage, aligning the spinner to the cowl is very difficult. The manual calls for a 1/16 to 1/8" gap all the way around the spinner. It doesn't seem possible. Has anyone else had a problem with this? Has anyone put the vertical thrust line right on the center of the firewall? Any input would be appreciated! Hope to fly it Saturday!

Flyer Freq

I guess I'll post my own reply. I moved the vertical thrust line to the center, which helped with the cowl alignment. The firewall had 3/4 degree right thrust already in it. There was 2.5 degree's down thrust in the firewall also. I shimed the engine up to about 1.5 degree's down thrust. The plane flies beatifuly. I have a GMS .76 in it and a lot of nose weight. That engine pulls it along well. Loops and rolls are effortless. I'm afraid to try any flat spins for fear of not having enough power to get it out.

Andy

gkdrcflyer

My Feedback: (2)

I'm building a Dragon Lady also, and have never seen any plans call for offsetting the vertical thrust line, and typically the horizontal thrust line will be center of the fuel tank outlet hole. I'm also a little confused. I'm about to mount a OS 120 Surpass. What effect do you get by mounting the vertical thrust line to the right of center as looking at the firewall from the front of the plane? Should I just follow my old time instincts and mount it vertically center of fuse and horizontally center of fuel tank outlet?

fredscz

My Feedback: (47)

Is your firewall perfectly straight or is it canted to right (looking from the back of the plane forward)?? On models that have right thrust built into the firewall you have to mount the engine off center so that the crankshaft exits the center of the cowl opening. Right thrust is necessary or at least thought to be necessary in some models to counteract the left torque and "P" factor of the engine/prop.
Just out of curiosity did you notice how old the op was?
Fred

gkdrcflyer

My Feedback: (2)

fredszc,

I understand what you are saying now. I just have never had to offset the engine from center on any model, even though the firewall was canted. What you are saying makes sense, as I visualize it. What about the offset vertically? The plans say to measure 3 3/4 inches up from the bottom for the horizonal thrush line. This position is above center of the fuel tank outlet. Does this matter or should I just follow the plans? All my other planes in the past I've had the horizontal thrust line pretty much center of the fuel tank opening. Thanks for your input.

Gary

Bill Diedrich

Could one of you post a pic of your Dragon Lady and who
the manufacturer is.

Thanks.

Bill D.