Panther Sport Aircraft Forums

Thanks Paul! I’m not doing the removable wing configuration. With the fixed wing setup, is there any other reason to wait to rivet the firewall?

Also, thanks for the heads-up about having the side panels at least clecoed prior to mounting the engine.

Keith

Forgot, if you leave an engine hung on the fuselage, it is recommended to have the side skins in place, or at least clecoed well, or some hoist to support the engine as you could theoretically bend the frame slightly. The skin is a structural member. And a lot of the work in the fuselage is easier with the skins off. We usually recommend people put the skins on permanently as late as possible. In fact mine weren't installed until a couple weeks before painting.

The reason it was recommended to fit the wing first, is it is easier to sight through the wing pin holes to see how to adjust them, in particular if you are making them folding. That requires more fine tuning of the wing spar guides. It can be done without sighting, but it is harder. You can remove the wings after the spar guides are set and rear spar pin holes are drilled and continue on.

I read in the plans that the firewall should not be riveted until the wings are fitted. Is it critical to wait to rivet the firewall on? I’ve installed the elevator pushrod and needed to feed it through the forward frame. I’d like to install the engine and do all the firewall forward stuff before building the wings. Is this a viable sequencing option?

Thanks! Keith