RE: Building the Hangar 9 Cessna 182 Skylane
Hello Joe. I used the Sierra nose gear on mine as well. If you can get hold of the RC Report review of the Hangar 9 182, Dick Pettit explains in detail how to remove the stock nose gear wheel pant and install on the Sierra nose gear. Basically it involves removing as much of the resin holding the wheel pant to the stock fork as possible. I used a Dremel and got most of it out. Then if it won't tap loose, a little bit of heat on the fork and it should come right off. Mine came off pretty easily with no damage. The Sierra unit requires a much bigger hole in the top of the pant, so you have to lay that out, and then it fits back over the Sierra fork. I used epoxy with some milled fiberglass filler from the inside and around the fork. There’s a lot of glue surface, and it’s a pretty tight fit, so it’s not going anywhere.
Regarding installation on the firewall -- don't use the block provided in the kit. Bolt the Sierra unit directly to the firewall. The Sierra has the proper forward rake built into the mounting bracket. There have been some comments in this thread about reinforcing the firewall installation, since the Sierra unit is pretty rigid. I do agree some additional strength is needed in the firewall itself, or it could pull out. I made a plate out of 1/4 inch birch ply, with the t-nuts installed, and glued to the inside of the firewall. I made it as big as I could fit to spread the load onto as much of the firewall as possible. As I recall, it was about 2-1/2 x 3-1/2 inches. I also sanded the face of the plate, so that it became kind of a wedge, and the back of the plate is parallel to the front of the Sierra bracket. That way, the bolts and t-nuts were perpendicular. Hope this makes sense. Easier to do than to explain… I haven't found any additional bracing of the firewall necessary. First, the Sierra gear has excellent shock absorbing characteristics. Second, the 182 lands as slowly and gently as any giant scale I've ever had. Set it on the mains first, as others have suggested, and the stress on the nose gear and firewall is really pretty minimal. But with this setup, it's not fragile at all.
You will have to drill a hole in the bottom of the engine box for the strut, and it will extend through 1/4 - 3/8 of an inch. As it turned out, with the engine I used (Saito 182 twin) I needed the tank pretty much right on the floor of the engine box, so had to cut off the top of the Sierra strut, and it's flush with the inside top of the box. This part of the strut is not structural, so doesn't hurt anything. I placed the top of the drag links right against the bottom of the fuse, and this gave the exact stance and necessary prop clearance. Also, you will have to move the location of the nose gear steering pushrod from the pre-drilled stock location. A simple change. I've attached a picture of my installation, for what it's worth. Hope this helps!