I just opened my new Brodack ARC Cardinal and rigth away saw something I had not done before. The cheek cowl comse already built onto the fuselage so I know that the engine mounting is different. It looks like the engine is secured using the metal straps that come with the kit. Is this method realy safe? No vibration? It looks like there is a signifacent gap between the engine and the  fuselage side. Is that normal?

I am tempteed to take the cheek cowl off and mount the engine the old fashioned way but the workmanship is real good and I don't want to mess it up.

Can someone shed some light on this?

Don

I've used it in my Pathfinders ARF...
Never had any problems at all, but for my Thundergazer, at first I was going to use it, then, some people said a few things and I changed my mind, and went with the old-fashion way. I'm powering this ship with one Enya 61 on a pipe, and the alu straps didn't seem Strong enough, or maybe they could bend with tightening and hold the engine just by the edges of the mount ears, like |I said, it didn't seem "right".
Oh, I just recalled the fact that to use a bigger engine in the Path's, like some  Enya 45 and the ST 51, I had to grind the mounts wider, maybe 1/8 at each one for the engine to fit.
I'm sure you're not going to have any issues with the universal mounts.
One advantage is that if you crash, the mount ears don't break like they would with the bolts through them, and it absorbs the impact better as the engine can move back a little...
Don't ask how I got to know this...

Marcus