An hour or so later...

I got the motor mounted and backed with some tri stock. Perhaps a little more in the front and some along the bottom behind the FW to strengthen the nose section and with a little final sanding to the fuse and canopy we'll be ready for some finishing!

Here's the motor mounted. As can be seen, the front of the can actually ends before the balsa nose ring backers. The prop shaft just allows a beefy nylon washer to be threaded on to it and provide enough length for the spinner backplate, prop hub (APC 8x6E), prop washer and prop nut. Bigger props with thicker hubs might be a problem as there might not be enough thread.

However, I don't intend to use a prop any longer than 8". If anything, I might use a 7x6.5SF or similar.

David.