Had another flight lesson this morning to work on my tail dragger endorsement. I greased the first landing (that’s good), but the second and third indicate I need more practice.

The paint for the engine casing had’nt arrived yet so I started on the crankshaft assembly. Turns out the crankshaft has to be stored in the freezer for 12 hours before assembly. Contrarily, the timing gear (a ring shaped gear that goeas around the crankshaft) has to be baked at 450° for a couple hours. When these two pieces are assembled, the crankshaft expands and the timing gear contract and the two pieces make a super tight marriage. Anyhow, this freezing/baking process means I can’t assemble today. So I cleaned all the parts with mineral spirits and and prepared them for assembly tomorrow.

The paint arrived early afternoon so I got to paint! I’m pleased with the results. My son Tristan helped me peel the masking tape off and he did a great job!

Painted Casing Crankshaft Parts Crankshaft and Cylinder Ready to Paint My Helper