Now that the fuselage finishing is done, it’s time to mount the engine.

The first task is to remove the wings.

Look Ma! No wings!

Then we rotated the plane and got it in about the right location under the chain hoist. We then rolled the engine under the hoist and hooked it up.

Here’s the engine hanging.

Because the engine will need to be leveled, I picked up a leveling beam at Harbor Freight. I had to violate my personal rule on tool purchases. Which is, always buy the best. This comes from an article I read in the woodworking magazine that offered the saying “When you buy the best, you only cry once.”  A proper engine leveling beam costs hundreds of dollars. This one was $39.95!  But I will only need it one time, right? 🙂

Before the engine can be mounted to the firewall, proactive fire protection is needed. In some countries (not ours), a metal barrier must exist between the engine compartment and the cabin. This is a good idea. So Velocity provides a sheet of stainless steel with their engine installation kit. But I didn’t get the stainless steel.

Instead, I picked up a sheet of titanium. Same thickness but half the weight and higher temperature range. 🙂

First I took a large piece of cardboard and made a template.

Then transferred it to the titanium and cut it out.