Well I'm much further along. Most everything has been dry mounted. The power plant is a Zenoah G26. I am using the ABS cowl just for a template. When I get everything the way I like it, I'll spit the cowl and wrap it around the spun aluminum one as a guide for the modifications.
I'm new to the gas thing so mounting the motor was a challenge. The first mounting plate I made was wrong so I had to make another.
I didn't like the idea of a completely rigid undercarriage so I am improvising a bungee suspension. I slotted the wheel struts and made two brass brackets. With the bungees there, the axle will sit at the bottom of the slots and move up and down on the rare occasion that I should gently bounce it.
Things are just hanging there for now. Any recommendations for the bungee material would be welcome.
I really struggled with the throttle linkage. The motor comes with two manifolds and so there are two ways to mount the carb. They each had their pros and cons. Neither was going to make running the throttle the easiest. So again I improvised. I made the bell crank bracket and added a tie rod with two ball joints. Now the throttle control will be a straight shot from the servo tray, through the firewall and to the bell crank. I had to add one drilled and tapped hole for the bracket. It took three tries at the bracket but I eventually got it the way I like it. This setup also allowed me to change the mechanical advantage a little. Now the servo can travel almost its full rotation from idle/off to full. This will give me better throttle control.
As always, any tips and suggestions are welcome.
Salute!