Firewall Template

Next I made a rigid template out of poster-board to trace to the stainless.

Then I cut the stainless with tin snips (no easy task, and a good way to ruin a pair of tin snips…).

The next step in preparing for engine mounting is to fit the cowling to the fuselage, and support the lower cowling from below into the position that the upper cowling would support it to. To do this, we built a 2″x4″ frame to hold the cowling up. Next the engine will be hoisted into place, with the mount attached to it. The engine will be centered against the lower cowling, and leveled (and the plane is also leveled side-to-side), and mounted 3/8″ above center as it will sag when removed from the hoist. Here we’ve mounted the cowlings and supported the lower cowling.