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Thread: Pragmatic Answer Sought: When to build engine

  1. #1
    CarlOrton's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    DFW Area
    Posts
    729

    Pragmatic Answer Sought: When to build engine

    Hi, All;

    I know the 'proper' anal retentive answer is to build the engine one day, hang it and wire it the next, then start it and fly it the 3rd day.

    Unfortunately, very few of us can do that.

    Background: I'm building a Zenith Cruzer. I'm at the 90% done, 90% to go phase. I have periods of time where I'm thinking about how to do things, and working on building my O-200 would dovetail nicely with those periods. But, it would be a drawn-out project. I've had all of my parts inspected and yellow-tagged, so I'm basically at the put it together point.

    I know some guys hang an engine before the fuselage is even ready to be set on its gear, and I don't think I've heard of any incidents occurring as a result. Having the engine relatively complete would also aid in running sensors and other cabling in place.

    So: Better to wait, or go for it? It'll probably be a 9 months to a year before I'm ready to have first engine start.

    Carl Orton
    Sonex #1170 / Zenith 750 Cruzer
    http://mykitlog.com/corton

  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2019
    Posts
    22

    Preservation

    Quote Originally Posted by CarlOrton View Post
    Hi, All;

    I know the 'proper' anal retentive answer is to build the engine one day, hang it and wire it the next, then start it and fly it the 3rd day.

    Unfortunately, very few of us can do that.

    Background: I'm building a Zenith Cruzer. I'm at the 90% done, 90% to go phase. I have periods of time where I'm thinking about how to do things, and working on building my O-200 would dovetail nicely with those periods. But, it would be a drawn-out project. I've had all of my parts inspected and yellow-tagged, so I'm basically at the put it together point.

    I know some guys hang an engine before the fuselage is even ready to be set on its gear, and I don't think I've heard of any incidents occurring as a result. Having the engine relatively complete would also aid in running sensors and other cabling in place.

    So: Better to wait, or go for it? It'll probably be a 9 months to a year before I'm ready to have first engine start.
    Building the 0-200 early is not an issue as long as you coat all surfaces (cylinder interior, journals, pistons, rings, etc. with a good preservation oils such as Shell Ensis Oil. Vr.. Don Stits

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