whee wrote:Untitled by Jon Whee, on Flickr

My gawd that is a lot of room between the firewall and the engine.. will that be the standard cowling length or have you extended it?

That's the standard cowl length. The crank flange sits 58.5" forward of the wing leading edge or about 41" forward of the firewall. Going to have tons of room behind the engine.

whee wrote:That's the standard cowl length. The crank flange sits 58.5" forward of the wing leading edge or about 41" forward of the firewall. Going to have tons of room behind the engine.

Is this a CG thing or ??

Yup. Bob Barrows original spec was 58-1/2". Then a revision came along moving it back to 56-1/2". Bunch of builders completed their Bearhawks with schmancy heavy interiors. Moved it back to 58-1/2"

TradeCraft wrote:

whee wrote:That's the standard cowl length. The crank flange sits 58.5" forward of the wing leading edge or about 41" forward of the firewall. Going to have tons of room behind the engine.

Is this a CG thing or ??

I didn't notice the engine-forward aspect until it was pointed out. Seems like it might be a CG thing, f you don't do a heavy interior. Have you crunched the numbers? You don't wanna have to put a heavy battery all the way aft, or worse yet add ballast.

I thought pretty hard about moving the engine back 2" but decided since this will be a family hauler and will be loaded close to the aft CG that it would be a good to keep the engine where Bob decided was best. I figure the guys running O540s don't have any forward CG issues when light so I should be good since the IO360 is lighter then the O540. I did run some numbers and it looks like I'll be right about where I want to be.

Panel blank rough fit.
Untitled by Jon Whee, on Flickr

We are mounting the panel so we can pull it without having to mess with the boot cowl.
Untitled by Jon Whee, on Flickr

Nice! Engine mount looks to be coming along well.
Keep the posts coming!

.
I really loved Whee's video posted Jan 8, 2016. I think it offers "inspiration" for the "rest of us" who are thinking about building in "normal garages".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ew9YjAGnSf4

I keep seeing these beautiful builder videos where folks have 80x100 foot immaculate garages/hangars with perfectly painted shiny grey floors. All the latest tools are perfectly hanging in symmetrical patterns on the wall, and not a single piece of anything non-aviation related in sight. The fuse is on jig that rotates on ball bearing shafts, huge work benches everywhere, ...you get the idea. It's depressing for average grunts like me.


I'd love to see a thread, not so much on fancy panels or planes, but on actual real garages used by the "the every day average Joe" to put together their home built. It might inspire more people to say..."yeah ".. I can build it and do it in my average small garage.

I remember years ago visiting a friend, and when I went into his bathroom, I saw major parts of an old Chrysler 225 slant 6 engine sitting in the bathtub, spray carb cleaner and engine degreaser everywhere. Yeah...he was single . But boy, talk about a good old average Joe, he was The Man ! So to Whee, thanks for the inspirational boost !

Well, here are a few of mine. When the garage filled up, we just moved to the living room for rib stitching or what ever.... Pay the kids enough they'll work. Probably broke a few child labor laws, but we finished!

From Garage...


To living Room...


To Oshkosh.

Denali wrote:.I'd love to see a thread, not so much on fancy panels or planes, but on actual real garages used by the "the every day average Joe" to put together their home built. It might inspire more people to say..."yeah ".. I can build it and do it in my average small garage.

I'd be happy to post photos of our garage workshop.
Probably best to start a new thread, rather than hijacking Whee's thread.

Battson wrote:Nice! Engine mount looks to be coming along well.
Keep the posts coming!

Thanks Battson and Denali. I am frequently tempted to not post much because few seem interested but I try to remember that many are watching with interest and just don't have anything to say.

Great pics Blackrock.

whee wrote:Thanks Battson and Denali. I am frequently tempted to not post much because few seem interested but I try to remember that many are watching with interest and just don't have anything to say.

I fall into this category. Sometimes all I can add is an "awesome" or two. I hate to sound redundant, so sometimes I won't hit submit

But I'm definitely watching with interest!

Heck yeah, post away! I love following your progress. We will all think you are slacking if you don't keep the updates coming.

You need Fightin' Tools in any good shop!

Postem we lovem. This is the best place to steal, oops I mean share idea's. I like your idea of pulling the panel out for service work. My intention is very similar on my c175 project. I intend to use tool box sliders and have three sections similar to what it looks like you are planning.
KenW

Keep posting I love it ! Takes me back to when I was building my Pegazair
Doug

Please keep posting. You're being watched. That came out awfully creepy.

I fall into the watching and not commenting crowd as well. But I am really enjoying following along. One day I will build a plane, and having threads like this to go back to for ideas are great!