01/11/2009 (1 hour):

I started this step by making a template of the firewall out of cardboard. I laid the cardboard against the firewall, with two holes cut in the center to duct-tape it against the glass. I then carefully cut around the edges with a razor blade to get a perfect fit, leaving some extra material in front of the spar. Finally, a few taps with a mallet on each screw head gave me the exact screw hole locations.

Next time I'll actually cut the stainless. John suggested leaving 1/8" or so of margin since a to-theedge fit isn't COMPLETELY critical, and trimming it later is a pain. I still need room for the cowl lips.

04/02/2009 (1 hour):

OK, instead of cutting the stainless I realized that my template didn't allow for the lower cowl lips... because I hadn't installed them yet. So I did that today. It wasn't rocket science, although I did allow for a slightly larger indentation (1/8" rather than 1/16") than called for in the plans to make it a bit easier to fair in the cowl. When I first attached the firewall onto the fuselage, I had had trouble making the depressions properly - specifically, I hadn't made them at the right angle, or deep enough. This will help make up for that. To finish the lips I still need to knock out the foam blocks and do the inside layups.

04/05/2009 (1 hour):

Today I trimmed the previous layup, then made an inside layup of two more layers of BID. This will give me the 4 plies of BID called for in the plans on my cowl lips.

04/07/2009 (1 hour):

The cardboard template wasn't rocket science - hopefully the stainless will fit as well! I'm going to start cutting it on my next trip out.

04-16-2009 (3 hours):

Tonight I installed the Fiberfrax and firewall. I was actually pretty pleased with myself. Working with this stuff, and the stainless, has given some builders some trouble. I spent some time researching this step and had a pretty decent time with it.

To cut the firewall I used tin snips, which was hard on the hands but worked out OK. A nibbler would have been better but I wasn't buying one just for ONE USE. I filed and Dremeled all edges smooth, then worked on the holes. I center-punched each hole, then worked my way through a variety of bit sizes until I was happy with each hole. A step drill is really the #1 choice for this work, but although I have one, I couldn't for the life of me find it. I used a hole cutter for the torque tube holes, which was a bit more work. I wasn't using a bimetal hole saw, just a cheap-o from a $5 set. It took a bit of doing, and I think I killed the hole saw, but it worked OK.