Maj. Woody's Ultra Flash
03-07-2017, 04:20 PM
#202
My idea was to box in the well with 1/16" aircraft grade balsa. I fit the sheets with the grain vertical which will provide the most strength. Be sure to locate and drill holes of your airlines. I saturated the landing gear blocks, bulkheads and my sheeting with thin CA then sanded it smooth with fine sand paper in preparation for paint.
03-07-2017, 04:30 PM
#204
Now I had to figure out how to mount that landing gear door. That flat slab on the side of the Prolink strut was talking to me. What I did was cut a bass block to the size of the slab side. Next I spent a lot of time hand sanding the proper angle on the block so that my landing gear door would fit tight in the recessed molding of the wing. Clamping my T-Bar to the table allowed me to use two hand on the block and apply pressure to the right areas to get the proper angle. Lots of sanding and fitting. When done, I marked my centers on the block.
03-07-2017, 04:30 PM
#205
Here is what the gear looks like temporarily mounted in the wing. I positioned my retracts so the tires were as far forward in the well as I could get without touching. My thought process was that when the springs settle in after a few landings, the gear will remain slightly pivoted bringing the wheel into the center of the well. If centered initially, the wheel may bind when the springs relax.
03-07-2017, 04:42 PM
#206
With the holes marked, I put the block in a vise and headed for the drill press. Once the holes were drilled in the block I had to disassemble my strut, attach the block to the strut with double sided tape then finally put the whole assembly back into the vise for drilling. I then tapped the holes for a 2-56 machine screws. Reassemble the strut and bolt everything back up in the wing. Now put the block onto the strut with double sided tape on both sides of the block. Now put the door in place. Remove the block from the strut but leave it on the door. Now transfer the holes from the block to the door. Sand the gear door and glue the block to the door. I needed to do some trimming on the wing recess for the door. Here you can see everything bolted up and the door is absolutely tight in the recess and the door very secure. By the way all those screws were painted the proper color. you will see that when I do the final assembly.
03-07-2017, 04:50 PM
#208
Everything was then given a couple coats of flat white paint. As stated earlier, all screws were painted the appropriate color as well. Now its time for final assembly. I have to tell you this was a long process. I have over 45 hours on the wing alone! I estimate I will have closer to 50 on the wing when I am done. Hard to believe that it takes me as long to do the wing as some people take to build the entire jet.
03-07-2017, 04:54 PM
#209
Hi Griz. Belive me I stressed over not being able to use the Sullivan clevises with the keeper. I had to decide between the beefy 3mm rod that was included or going down in size to 4-40 in order to use the Sullivan Clevises. I wound up using tygon on the stock clevises and painting it. you wont see it at 199.9 MPH !!
03-07-2017, 04:55 PM
#210
Good to see you back. Is it possible to find 2-56 screws with counter sunk heads? This way they would fit flush with the doors since the bass wood block is glued to the door. Also, if you beveled the gear cover and the door opposite, the door would fit closer. Just a thought.
larry/Instructor
03-07-2017, 05:40 PM
#211
Hi Larry.
I did bevel the gear doors and they do fit really tight and perfectly flush with the wing. Great idea on the counter sunk screws. I do have these but did not use them as I originally did not plan to glue the block to the door. I guess I am off to paint some more screw heads!
I did bevel the gear doors and they do fit really tight and perfectly flush with the wing. Great idea on the counter sunk screws. I do have these but did not use them as I originally did not plan to glue the block to the door. I guess I am off to paint some more screw heads!
03-08-2017, 05:21 PM
#214
I did the final installation of one of my landing gear today. I used lock washers and flat washers along with loctite to secure the retract to the mount. Note the minimal amount of air line in the wheel well. I used white for the forward position to disguise its appearance. It took me a few tries to figure out how to route my brake line. The tight clearance I have between the trunion and retract cover wont allow for even a zip tie to clear. The brake line is very secure being routed behind the retract bolts and under the cover. It has to stay put. The cover was screwed in place with thick CA on each screw. The gear door was secured with loctite on the screws. I tested the gear retraction / extension and it is very smooth, operates with minimal air pressure and has no binding.
03-08-2017, 05:27 PM
#215
Tomorrow I will install the other gear, secure the wing tank hatch then polish the wing. Using the brush attachment on my shop vac during construction has caused some minor scratches to the lower wing surface. I tested some polish on a section of the wing and the scratches come right out leaving a nice shine to boot. I'll take some photos of the process.
03-08-2017, 06:19 PM
#217
Wow that is a great idea Matt!! I love goop because it is very strong and stays put yet you can peel it off if needed. Aluminum tubes would match my gear also. If that zip tie of mine gives me trouble, I am going with your awesome tube idea. Thanks for the reply and the compliment.
03-11-2017, 09:24 AM
#222
I left some extra length to my airlines so that if I needed to remove the retract I would have the required slack. I glued in a block to accept a sheet metal screw which secures the fuel tank hatch. After drilling a hole for the wires and lines, I installed a rubber grommet to protect the lines. All servo extension have been labeled.
03-11-2017, 10:12 AM
#225
My Feedback: (18)
Join Date: Jun 2002
Location: New City, NY
Posts: 3,021
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Wow that is a great idea Matt!! I love goop because it is very strong and stays put yet you can peel it off if needed. Aluminum tubes would match my gear also. If that zip tie of mine gives me trouble, I am going with your awesome tube idea. Thanks for the reply and the compliment.