Hello:

I build a lot of planes. I probably put together one plane per month average. And most of the time I am assembling a prototype or some new thing and I have to develop the manuals and procedures, so I don't usually have a lot of time to make it neat or fancy. Also my planes get worked on a lot, so they must be easy to service.

I am assembling a new Giles, this one I plan to fly for a while since I really like the way a Giles flies. I thought that this time I would take you through the process, show the logic I use in deciding what to use and what goes where.

I also want to show that building a 35% or 40% plane is really no more complicated than a 50cc gasser. Much of the stuff you hear in the internet is meant to get you to buy things, often that you do not need. My goal here is to make this as simple as possible while remaining completely effective.

So here goes.

The first step is to get the engine mounted. Our new planes come with the firewall marked and an engine template, so all you need to do is line up the marks with on the firewall and the template and drill the mounting holes. We also sell a mounting kit that has the engine mounting spacers (standoffs, sort of, but more rigid and less expensive than machined standoffs) plus blind nuts and long socket head screws.

In this case this was the first plane of a new shipment so I needed to verify the location of the mark. As I expected it was off a little, so I mounted the engine once, found out how far it was off, then filled the holes and re-mounted it in the proper location.

Now that I have done this, you would know the correct location is UP 1/4" and to the left (viewing the plane) about 1/8". So make a new mark there and use that mark as your reference.

Also note the DA-100 template is marked along its side, not along the top. See photo.

I mounted the DA-100 ignition in the void behind the engine. The spacers are 1 3/4" deep which is plenty of room for the ignition.

I mount most things on foam and with zip-ties. Don't pull the zip-ties down real tight, that just increases shocks transferred to the ignition from vibration, instead leave them a little loose and surround the box on all sides so it can't slip out.

The firewall photo shows the initial mounting and then the revised location.

TF