Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: "DJ Vegh"
Last night, I was trying to clean up the garage a bit and the plan was toremove all the cooling tin from the Corvair engines I just got so they wouldneatly fit into the corner. Just to pull the tins off, I used every wrenchfrom 1/4" to 5/8", it was nuts! I've pulled whole engines apart with lesswrenches.Anyway, I was going to snap a picture of the cute little buggers lined up inthe corner and attach it, but that may be just silly. Also, the questionperiodically arises about where a person should start an airplane project.The following is a section taken from an email that I sent to anothergentleman, here are my thoughts:My opinion is that you should start with the engine first. Some people saythe tail feathers or the wing ribs, and it's too easy to quit after justbuilding those. I think it would be hard to futz around for a few yearsbuilding inexpensive parts, and then try to justify the most expensivecomponent on the aircraft. If you are willing to build the engine first,build a test stand, strap on a prop, and run the damn thing, just thepresence of that assembly in the shop would provide the pressure tocontinue. Additionally, the engine complete won't consume anywhere near thefloorspace as it sits and waits for the completion of the rest of theproject, unlike a set of wings or a fuselage.Robert HainesDu Quoin, Illinois________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: Robert Haines
I somewhat agree with the logic of building the engine first. I did not do itthat way myself but I did build the engine pretty early in the project. I'mabout 50% done with the airframe and I just finished my engine.Here's my logic and why I did it that way.Start with something small... ribs or rudder, etc. and get a feel for how to workwith the materials. Them move onto the fuse. Get the fuse up on the wheels.By this point you have probably been working on the project for about a year orso and are probably in the downward swing of motivation (like I was). THEN build yourself the engine! It takes a couple months to get it done but whenyour done and you have fired that baby up you are pumped and overflowing withmassive amounts of motivation.Building the engine is a rejuvinating experience. It will pull you right out ofthat slump that you seem to get in at the 50% mark.I haven't seriously touched my airframe for months and months. I built my Corvairback in September-November and now I'm juiced and going strong on the airframeagain. In fact I'm hoping to have continuity to the elevators and rudderin the next week and then it's time for wings.You could build the engine first but I think after it sitting in the shop for acouple years it would loose it's luster and exitement factor.DJ----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: BARNSTMR(at)aol.com