Hi all

Sorry if this gripe has been aired before but why on earth do ARTF instructions almost always tell the assembler to attach the stab, fin and u/c BEFORE the engine.
All experienced modelers realize that they just get in the way and can easily be damaged during engine installation. I always ignore this and mount the engine first. Of course I then remove the engine as the extra weight also hampers construction.

I like to iron the covering and install the tail feathers and trial fit the wings before I do much else. That way if there are any major alignment issues, I can deal with them (either by sending back of fixing the issue, depending on how serious the problem is) before I look at the engine installation.
Also that way, I can consider the thrust line of the engine. I've had a few (of the cheaper) ARFs where the engine thrust line was way too high and I could modify the mounting points to suit. One particular example was on an ARF that I see regularly advertised in this forum. The engine mount is about 1" too high for an upright engine and the design is such that an inverted engine just doesn't work. This particular plane also has an issue with the carby being about 1" above the fuel tank. By lowering the mount, the plane flies a lot better and the motor runs a lot more reliably.

I find that a good stand alleviates the problems that you allude to with the tailfeathers getting in the way during engine installation. I use PVC pipes in an X configuration for this.

1)reinforce anything before I assemble --then I add in this order
2)engine
3)retracts
4)servos
5)control horns
6)tail area
7)wing control surfaces
8)wing -halves together
9)wing to fuse

piroflip2,

I always like to take everything out of the box and look it over for damage and then trail fit the wings and stab halfs on the tubes to make sure the alignment is ok. By doing this first you may catch something wrong that may have to be returned and then you haven't wasted your time shrinking the covering on the plane. Then, once I'm satisfied I just follow the instruction.

Mount the engine last........


that way you can mount it in the position you want to affect CG.....

you can slide the engine forward or backwards on the mount depending on your needs.....

with any 60 to 120 size engine a Horizone engine mount will allow you to slide the engine at any time , you can assemble it first , then slide it when the plane is complete to effect the CG

I always install my engines last. Most of the time I have not even bought it yet. Then by the time I get close to it, I have finally made up my mind on what I want. Works for me.

I put my engine in first , its just me and it works great for me , then I can move the plane in any position with out damage to the tail

I usually install the engine first to set distance from the firewall, drill holes for throttle linkage, etc. Then I remove the engine from the engine mount, leaving the mount to serve as a usefull handle for subsequent work.

I do as LDM's list.

It's extremely rare that a plane is so far off in C.G. that the engine would need to be moved, unless I'm using something way out of spec... that I can't adjust by moving the battery around instead.

I like to 'work' on the engine installation first because I stand up while doing this and the end of the fuse (not the tail feathers) are firmy planted on the ground. After the engine is 'in' it is then taken out and reinstalled as near to the end of assembly as possible.