I'm flying at 10,200' above sea level--yup almost 2 miles high. Air is thin. REALLY thin. Engine performance suffers drastically. Thinner atmosphere means that less air can enter the engine because of the lower air pressure. Couple that with about 10% less oxygen-- and you got an engine that runs like a turtle on sleeping pills. The added engine displacement only serves to "compensate". I'll probably have about the same performance as an LT-40 at sea level with a .40 engine. I have flown here before with an LT-40. 1st time all I had was a TT Pro 46 and a 12 oz tank. I only filled the tank 1/2 way to lesson the load. I needed about 600' of runway to get airborn and anything under 3/4 throttle the plane was sinking. 2nd time was a bit better. I installed an OS 61FX and it flew a lot better. I was on floats, flying off the lake. Storm rolled in and my wings iced up on the leading edges. I had to land at 1/2 throttle because the plane weighed about 10 pounds with all the ice. It was so heavy that it was sinking fast and 1/2 throttle was needed for a decent approach. My eyes about popped out of my head when I saw all the ice on the wings.

I've added bamboo pins (kabob scewers) to the firewall and triangle stock to the outside of the firewall as well as inside, on the bottom.

I've actually seen guys fly the LT-40 with a 91 4-stroke. No problem.

Will post pics of the flaps when the plane is all finished.