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I'm sitting here pondering the next year's worth of construction, thinking about the finish kit, and I had a thought...

Are you going to put it on the gear first, or wait until you have the engine? I've heard that it is easier to put the mount on the engine first, then mount the engine/mount to the airframe.

I am curious, what are you going to do?

Brad, I plan on leaving the mount off until the engine is hung.

Some say that it is easier to do the wheel pants that way too! If you leave the mount off the plane, secure it to the wall, high and plumb, the wheel pants are at chest height, easily fitted and adjusted for flight!

One that is done, get your engine. Install the mount on the engine and bolt the apparatus to the firewall. This way you don't have to wiggle a 300# engine around and fit the bolts into place!

I am gonna give that a try. I will letcha know how it works!

CJ

I am putting mine on the gear as soon as I can. I think hanging an engine is way overrated in the pain department.

Mine will be on it's gear this year. No motor though. I've helped hang a dozen or so engines, and some are easy, some are not. There's nothing difficult about it, just geometry to play with!

Brantel wrote:I am putting mine on the gear as soon as I can.

At the rate you are going, that will be next week.

Follow-up Question... Anybody know what the width of a -7 is at the main wheels?

Maybe a castering dolly is in order. Capt, didn't you post a picture of someone that had their fuse on a rolling rig of some sort. IIRC, it had something to do with the spar spacers. Maybe I can find it.

RV7Factory wrote:

Brantel wrote:I am putting mine on the gear as soon as I can.

At the rate you are going, that will be next week.

I wish. The finish kit is not ordered yet..... I'll be like Chad, twiddling my thumbs and waiting....

I have the down payment and am working toward the cash for the rest. Slow-go and the holidays sure put a hamper on the ability to save!

I need a partner in this adventure! A silent one with lots of money and who never wants to fly after we get it done

Brantel wrote:A silent one with lots of money and who never wants to fly after we get it done

I call that a wife

RV7Factory wrote:Follow-up Question... Anybody know what the width of a -7 is at the main wheels?

Maybe a castering dolly is in order. Capt, didn't you post a picture of someone that had their fuse on a rolling rig of some sort. IIRC, it had something to do with the spar spacers. Maybe I can find it.

6' 8" wide track, center to center of the tires.

That's what I'm gonna do...castoring dollies. That'll save the tires from sitting around for years on end...

Spike wrote:

Brantel wrote:A silent one with lots of money and who never wants to fly after we get it done

I call that a wife

Darn, Spike beat me to it!

Brantel wrote:

I wish. The finish kit is not ordered yet..... I'll be like Chad, twiddling my thumbs and waiting....

...and it's almost killing me!!! I am getting stuff done on the RC 195 tho...

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THAT FINISH KIT!!

RV7Factory wrote:

Spike wrote:

Brantel wrote:A silent one with lots of money and who never wants to fly after we get it done

I call that a wife

Darn, Spike beat me to it!

Except for the "silent" part!

Putting the engine on is easy. I did it by myself. First I drilled the mount to the fuselage and test fit it. Then I removed the mount and installed it on the engine. This is actually the hardest part and I needed a little help for that as you have to pry the mount a little to get the last bolt in. Then I just lifted the whole thing with an engine hoist and put the bolts through the fuselage into the engine mount. I used a saw horse under the rear of the fuselage to match the angle of the firewall to the angle of the engine hanging on the hoist and rolled the fuselage up to the engine and bolted it on. I think it took all of ten minutes to mount the engine after the mount was on it. Of course that is the part. All the rest of the engine stuff take a lot longer.

I have always planned on putting wheels under my spar blocks and making temporary "gear".

I don't recall posting any pic like that, Brad.

CJ

captain_john wrote:I don't recall posting any pic like that, Brad.

I was mistaken. It was the spar blocks schematics that you had posted in the document share. It has a pic of an -8 on metal legs, but no wheels.

I picked up the casters today, but won't drill them into the bottom of the 2x4's until the top skin is riveted for structural support.

CJ