Bodie

By tying the fuselage down I was able to get the lower L shaped bracket pulled up tight with a lift and pulled back tight against the firewall (first pic)... I was then able to pull it tight to the aluminum angle (second pic)... Third pic is where the top motor mount lined up for me in conjuction with the lightening hole. At this position it matched the cabin frame. Notice the arrow pointing to the test hole that was wrong...(just another lightening hole now.... The middle holes were a breeze! -steve

I bought my kit in two parts. The fuselage and firewall forward (motor mount, motor, guages etc). The motor mount bolts and washers were in the firewall forward kit in a separate bag. After removing the two rivets on each side of the aluminum angulars as recommended by folks in the previous posts, I held the front of the fuselage down at the lower nose gear bracket, then lifted the motor mount up with a cherry picker while pulling rearward on the motor mount with a ratchet strap attached to the main gear. By pulling the mount rearward I actually moved the hole I was to drill almost 1/4 to 3/8" (I'm a Yank) rearward. I pulled the lower motor mount brackets as inward as possible to the aluminum angular. I drilled the bottom holes first (they ended up being almost exactly between the two rivets that were removed. I then drilled the lower firewall holes. I then went to the top holes to align the front cabin frame to the motor mount. The motor mount actually had to be "stretched" about 1/2" to properly mate up with the cabin frame. The middle holes were then drilled without any adjustment. It seemed to me that pulling up the bottom first by putting those bolts in tension made sense, and if I had drilled the middle holes next I wouldn't have been able to properly align the top holes with the cabin frame bracket. Hope this helps. And, I got the same instructions...."attach the motor mount using bolts".

Thanks guys! I appreciate the help. In most places the instruction are excellent, and in some places, less than stellar. It seems that there is so much that depends on the cabin being tied correctly to the motor mount through the firewall. I'm just pleased that I finally got my firewall forward kit. It was a little over a year process as Covid shut Italy down for quite some time. Glad to be back at it! -steve

I have a question on how the motor mount attaches to the lower aluminum angles on my Savannah S. The lower motor mount bracket is L shaped and it is supposed to attach to the aluminum angular. However, the aluminum angular has two rivets attaching it to the forward end of the cabin floor. Am I to get the L shaped motor mount as tight as possible and drill the bolt hole so that it is tight up against the rivets or am I supposed to remove the rivits so the the L shaped motor mount is tight to the aluminum angle? Thank you. -steve

Quick question here. I'm putting the top lexan roof ribs in over the diagonal cabin tubes, and am wondering if there is one way of doing it that works better than another. One rib doesn't go completely inside the other rib, does it? I just flew with Valter Del Nebbia in a factory built in Fort Worth last week and the top ribs were covered in carpet so I couldn't tell. Thank you in advance! -steve Document (1).pdf

Ian, Greetings from the middle of Montana USA. I purchased a Savannah S kit in the fall of 2015. I was moving along on it in fits and jerks until I accidently discovered this site, and it has been an absolute Godsend for me. I was building along very well (in spite of the ICP manual) wholly and completely due to this website you host. Then life got in the road (my dad got Parkinsons and passed, my mom was depressed and suffering from dementia and moved into assisted living, my brother had a stroke, and our farm expanded by quite a bit). I had originally planned on a three year build but that obviously didn't happen. There is a saying that states "I would rather have knowledge an inch wide and a mile deep, than a mile wide and an inch deep". The depth of the knowledge on this site for the particular airplane that I am building is absolutely amazing, and I don't believe any other platform out there can compare. Even though I am half a world away, Mark Kyle graciously responded to my questions on fuel and electrical, and there are many others like him. I like that this site takes topics seriously and is participated in by enthusiasts rather than by anyone with an opinion (and I do like the good-natured banter). I'm 56, and for whatever reason, the new software change wasn't as easy as first because I wasn't used to it. But I am now. I'm not really one to post a bunch, and I even find it hard to post to our farm's facebook page, but don't think that lack of participation diminishes the excellent content offered here. Thank you for a quality site, quality content, and the quality community. p.s. I just ordered my engine a month ago, so it is somewhere between Austria and Texas, I hope

Hi all. I finally decided to post after seeing another fellow Montanan do so. Been trolling this site for several years mostly following the Savannah S. What a great group of guys, which helps compensate for the Construction Manual! I have a box of Savannah S parts that is becoming an aircraft. I have a rolling fuselage right now and have started on the wings.