I stopped by Tim Hess’s engine shop today to see major parts of the engine coming together as Tim joined the case halves.

Just getting to this point involves a lot of work – Tim has already balanced the major rotating components, checked tolerances on the bearings (and in some cases replaced ones he wasn’t happy with) and flow-matched the cylinders.

One of the reasons why I didn’t want to do this myself – the first time, at least – was that there are a lot of things that appear to be easy but can easily be done incorrectly, like applying the silk thread that’s used to seal the case halves, or laying down lubricants and sealants on the crank and cam.

I’m very happy with how everything is coming together on this part of the project. Later this Fall or Winter, it’ll be time to hang this thing on the fuselage.