Today was a real joy, especially when compared to fiberglass work. I can’t believe that some people actually build planes out of this vile stuff. At any rate, the prop went on today. Rafael came to help me, I didn’t have enough arms. We removed the bottom spark plugs so we could turn the engine to TC1, which is top dead center for the #1 cylinder. Since the engine comes with preservative in the cylinders, you cannot turn the engine without doing this or you might incur damage. Of course you need to stuff rag ends into the plug holes a little or you will end up with all the goop on the floor where it does no good. This accomplished and the prop goes on at the 2 and 8:00 o’clock position. When the engine stops it will end up at the 10 and 4:00 o’clock position. Then I mounted the prop/extension/spinner back plate assembly to the crank flange with the special 7/16” bolts provided by Sensenich. I tightend the bolts to snug and then used a torque wrench set to 43 ft lbs and alternately tightened them to the specs provided by the propeller manufacture. The last step is to safety wire the prop bolts in pairs, this is also covered by the Sensenich Bulletin. The last step it to check the track of the blades to insure they are within 1/32”, and they were dead on.
