SUPER SKYBOLT ARF & Echo 1.3 Gas Engine PROJECT ONE: Fiberglass the firewall and install engine stand-off. Materials needed: 30 watt soldering iron, 1" wide fiberglass, 20 minute epoxy, thin CA, and 1/2" guide or small steel ruler.
Using a 1/2" guide and your 30 watt soldering iron, cut the covering back 1/2" from the edge of the firewall. Stretch and lay the fiberglass next to the edge of the remaining covering and tack it down with thin CA. Once its in place, glue it completely down with the thin CA rolling the edge of the fiberglass over on the firewall. Burnish it using a baggie on your hand. Make sure the glass is well seated. You will not need to put covering on this fiberglass work as it will be hidden by the engine cowling.
Tack down one edge and stretch the glass around the firewall as depicted in the photo. There will be no need to put Monokote on this work, as this will be covered by the engine cowling.
Next, install the engine stand-off by centering it over the existing pass-through hole in the firewall. Epoxy and screw the stand-off to the firewall. The stand-off will be slightly off-set. This allows for right thrust and it centers the prophub in the cowling. Drill the new stand-off & firewall for the throttle cable. Do not mount the engine at this time.
Center the stand-off over the original mounting locator as depicted in the photo. This will insure proper right thrust location for the prop hub. CA the stand-off in place. Core out the center and install 4 "T" nuts and screws. You can also fiberglass the stand-off as well, although it's not really necessary.
I used four 5mm screws & T nuts to secure the stand-off to the firewall, as well as CA and fiberglassing. I might note here, that it's easier to install the stand-off if the access hatch is already done.
PROJECT TWO: Make a front access hatch
Mark off a line about 1/4" from the edge and cut the bottom plate out.
This is where the electronic ignition module will reside, and possibly the ignition battery. The gas tank will stay in its original location, directly over the landing gear. As you can see, there's a lot of room in here.
You can make your new hatch cover out of thin 1/8" plywood or use .032" sheet aluminum. This will give you easy access to the ignition module, battery, and the front of the gas tank. It will also make it easier to install the cabanes as you will see before too long. |
