Posted for "Jerry Lunceford" <airbear@grandecom.net>:

 
 While trying to initially fit my cowling, I noticed the engine was
 angled off to the right about 3/4 of an inch at the prop flange.  It
 took almost 1/4 inch of shims at the firewall to get it in line.  Has
 anyone else had this problem?  Assuming the fire wall is straight, and
 it appears to be, the mount must be misshaped.  "The fix" has most
 likely affected the nose gear retract position. I haven't looked at that
 yet. But is this within reason or should I complain to Vern.
 
 Thanks in advance for your opinion.
 
 Jerry W. Lunceford
 Corpus Christi, TX
 361 815-9641 cell
 361 993-5127 HM
 
 
 
[The engine is typically angled slightly to the right to help overcome P-factor and the spiral propwash that want to yaw the airplane to the left during high-power low-speed operations (like at takeoff and during climbout.) (see http://home.earthlink.net/~x-plane/FAQ-Theory-PFactor.html)  It is part of the design and not an error in the fabrication of the engine mount.   While the dynafocal engine components of the mount include this angular offset, the nosegear component does not.  It is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the airplane during the gear installation process.  If you installed the gear before fitting the cowling to the engine (pretty typical building sequence), correcting the thrust offset in the engine component with washers at the firewall will most likely cause your nosegear to enter the nosegear tunnel at an angle.  The idea is to fit the cowling to the engine and prop spinner, not the other way around.  I'm pretty sure that if you contact Lancair about this situation you'll be told a similar story, but please do so just to be sure and to set your mind at ease.

     <Marv>          ]