PT20 Rebuild question, I goofed =\
 

Ok heres the situation, I nosed in my PT 20 from about 40 feet into concrete, completely destroying one side of the fuse back to just behind the firewall. The other side escaped "relatively" unscathed, although, as the fire wall was crushed back into the fuel tank it removed a chunk of the basswood ply along where it was glued to the sides of the fuse(in a vertical direction). As such, I had no real guide to exactly what angle the firewall would be reinstalled at. I cleaned up the edges of the Basswood ply on both sides (removing even more material) but in doing so I seem to have cut it back at a slightly bad angle. It appears as though when I glue in the firewall I built that it, and the engine, will be sitting at about a 5-7 degree angle down. I dont want to try to remove even more material, to lower the risk of reducing the structural integrity of this area. Also due to the extra material being removed, the firewall that I built had to be 1/8 inch thicker bringing it to a rather bulky 3/8". My question is, what should I do in this situation? Should I just let it be and hope that I can trim out the effects of the down thrust, and added weight? Or maybe cut back more material to straighten it out? Or maybe try to use a small shim and just epoxy the hell out of it? Any help would be appreciated and gladly accepted. I havent picked up a hobby knife in a long time and am just getting back into the hobby with the plane I wrecked 10 years ago, so the simpler the solution the better :D. Thanks for any help in advance!

P.S. : I think it is time to invest in a digital camera. Pictures would make this very much easier to explain. Please let me know if you need me to extrapolate on any of the details.

Cameron

RE: PT20 Rebuild question, I goofed =\
 

no problem,add some small washers behind the motor mount on the side or sides you need to adjust,you should have some down and right thrust. I just slip the washers over the motor mount screws/bolts as needed then leave in place when I've got the engine where I want it ;)

RE: PT20 Rebuild question, I goofed =\
 

Put your firewall in and use some triangle stock to reinforce it to the fuse side. I would then make a basswood shim under the mount and glue it to the firewall. If you have access to a belt sander I would make it to fit fully under the mount. If the mount is very stiff and solid say made of aluminum you might get away with washers as shims. Good luck in your repair.

Mark Shuman

RE: PT20 Rebuild question, I goofed =\
 

Both very good answers, thanks guys

I kinda ended up doing a combination of both. I used triangle stock to reinforce the firewall to the fuse and am gunna see if I can get away w/ using the washers. I havent installed the motor mount yet but I've held it in there and it seems like it will work.. its a Dave Brown mount so it is pretty solild but has a bit of flex to it to reduce the vibration. Hopefully all will go as planned.

Thanks again!

Cameron