Zen 50 engine mounting distance...
 

For those of you who have built one... the manual calls for 4 1/2 inches, I'm using a Saito .82, and can't get it that close. I can manage 4 and 9/16, but then the carb rubs one of the engine mount bolts. It looks like the cowl is long enough to slide foward a bit, but I do want to make sure the cowl mount screws are between the two firewalls. And what aboiut CG, am I going to want to have the engine foward to make it work? Thanks in advance,


Andy

RE: Zen 50 engine mounting distance...
 

Maybe only my opinion here based on owning 18 or so planes but you are only talking about a 1/16" of an inch difference! Some flyers go for neautral nose up/down for balance while some like me want the nose to dip down about 1 1/2" from level. Some just want the nose to dip down 1/2" from level. Being that there are these differences in how a flyer balances his/her plane I really don't see that a 1/16" is enough to worry about on a plane like the Zen50. Also the Zen50 has a long fuselage and won't be as critical to cg as on shorter types. [8D]

RE: Zen 50 engine mounting distance...
 

I agree with Fastsky, I had a Zen 50 and I doubt with such a long fuse, that will make a difference. This is a great plane! I flew it for almost 2 years before selling it when I moved. The plane is built like a tank and is impervious to wind. I flew that plane when all other planes stayed on the ground. The Saito 82 will be a bomb in that plane! Good luck!