More tightly packed than an Ikea bedroom set

If you're not familiar with Ikea, you just need to know that it is a furniture company that owes a great deal of its international success to being a pioneer in the realm of flat-packing. For the 98% of you that won't follow a link, no matter how topical or what the cost in time and energy it took for me to find it for you, here's the gist:

Flat packing is a way of preparing furniture so that it can be easily shipped in constituent parts and assembled on location. It has become very popular in recent years because of its convenience for consumers and stores, and its cheaper costs. Flat packing is most recognized by American consumers for its use in the popular IKEA chain of stores, which are largely based on the idea of flat packing affordable and stylish furniture. Flat packing is also sometimes referred to as ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture, or knock-down furniture.

I bring this up because I have found that it is becoming increasingly common for me to have to try to explain just how (relatively) tiny the Rotax 912 engine is. With the RV-12 fuselage more or less complete and sitting next to an RV-6, the question often comes up as to how they will compare in size when the -12 is done. The RV-6 has a long, long nose, so the assumption is that the -12 will as well. Not true. The engine adds only a couple of feet to the overall length.

The Rotax 912 is, as mentioned, much smaller than the Lycoming O-320 that powers the RV-6. But that's only half of the story. It is also the case that the Rotax, as installed in an RV-12, is packed into the fuselage like an Ikea bedroom set is packed into an 8.5" x 11" FedEx shipping box. It's a marvel, really. I had the opportunity recently to get a few pictures that will hopefully convey just how tightly packed this thing is:

Get the picture?