REFLECTOR: firewall placement

[Steve Goldman]

I expect that this question might get a laugh from long time builders 
but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

I've been working on laying out my fuselage and when I placed my 
firewall bulkhead and got it plumb and square I went to drill out the 
index marks the factory put in the fuselage. Well the two lateral 
marks pretty much go thru the center of the flange. The centerline 
index just misses the front of the flange. I checked my longitudinal 
level (for the 20th or so time) and it is per the manual. So I just 
drilled a hole that hits the flange center. Now I'd chalk that up to 
every thing be "approximate" but the other cause for concern is that 
the cowl cut line is not parallel to the firewall either. It is "off" 
in the same direction (and similar magnitude) as the index marks. If 
the factory uses the index marks  to draw that line it make perfect 
sense. Anyhow I just thought I'd see if I should trust my leveling or 
if the index marks being off should give me pause.

[ I had another wtf moment  while positioning the bulkheads. (I 
suspect there are dozens of these for every "builders moment. :-) When 
I looked at the distance from where the foam transitions to front of 
the gear bulkhead the space is different by about 1.5 inches. That 
took me back as I couldn't believe I was that much out of square. So I 
measured from the nose to the end of the foam and not too surprisingly 
it was the foam that isn't symmetric. ]

-- 
Steve Goldman
'77 Tiger N28531
Velocity XL5-RG (T-3420hrs)
Pittsboro, NC (9NC8)