Starting stab & finishing engine

It’s been a little while since my last post but I haven’t been idle. I started building up the stabilizer. To ensure it is nice and flat, I clamped it onto the workbench while gluing the leading and trailing edges:

Working my way around the stabilizer:

After this, I can glue on the main ribs and by then it will not deform anymore and I can continue building up the rest of the structure without the guidance of the building table.

But first, let’s get back to the engine. I look forward to hearing it run, want to finish the firewall so I can continue building up the fuselage, and I’m curious to learn how my custom muffler holds up!

I finished the installation of the muffler by joining the front exhaust elbow to the muffler using the silicone tube provided by ROTO. I did however replace the tie wraps with spring clips, as they are way more sturdy, air tight, and easier to take on and off. I also think they look better than tie wraps too:

Finally, the propeller is on! I drilled the holes and attached it, what a pretty sight this is! Can’t wait to see this running…:

But before I can enjoy the sweet sound of a multi cylinder four stroke, I need to build up my test stand for this last and final phase of preparing the engine to go into the model. I’ve placed the throttle servo and fuel tank at the exact same height as they will be in the fuselage, though in there it will be a lot tighter:

Also, one of the things to tackle was building up a fueling station, as I am new to flying on gasoline, I didn’t have any field equipment either..

So now, I’m ready for breaking in the engine :-). To be continued!