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I am ready to hang the motor after 2 months of finding things to do before i do it. How does the 4 place balance without the tail and cargo doors? My fuselage is covered. Just hanging the motor, do I need the tail feathers installed to keep from being a nose dragger? No prop installed.
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It will stay put- mount engine and propeller -
I'm in the same situation. The tail was a bit light for my liking so I put the cargo floor in place and put 2x5 gallon water containers in place.Comment
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My engine is an IO540, and I used a bag of compost in the cargo area. Definitely needed, because if you’re disassembling the empennage etc it’ll nose over. I had my tailwheel up on a saw horse which kept the engine lower. That put the vertical stab pretty close to my ceiling, so I wedged some foam above the vertical stab, and on more than one occasion it was the ceiling contact that saved an embarrassing incident.Nev Bailey
Christchurch, NZ
BearhawkBlog.com - Safety & Maintenance Notes
YouTube - Build and flying channel
Builders Log - We build planesComment
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Its better to be safe than sorry, weigh it down or at least put the tail feathers on it.Comment
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Sounds good. ThanksComment
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Remember that the higher the tailwheel is off the ground, the lighter it gets.Comment
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Yeah I get that as well. I tried to put the fuselage on the gear today but my Harbor Freight lift doesn't play well with the rotisserie. I don't think I was too far from my first plane crash. I bought a HF chain hoist today and will try again tomorrow. Today was not good. LOL. -
This is because raising the tail moves the main wheels aft relative to the CG, and the effect is very large. -
Actually my situation was much dumber and self-induced. In the end I avoided the crash or worse. The chain hoist worked great. Gear installed. Engine tomorrow hopefully but one of the gear strut bolts is too long. I might have to wait for ACS shipment before I install the motor.
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