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Old 04-25-2003 | 03:40 AM
  #12  
loopnspin
 
Joined: Dec 2002
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From: Calabash, NC
Default Update On U Can Do landing gear

*Please also pass this on to anyone you know building this plane.

Attention to everyone waiting for their GP U Can Do 3D or are in the process of assembling it.

With all the discussion I have read about the landing gear failing on this plane, I decided to have a look for myself before I installed the canopy. So I cut out a section of the cockpit floor just above where the landing gear foundation sits. And boy howdy am I glad I did. What I found was very little epoxy (if that is truly what was used) In my opinion, this would have no doubt failed over a short period of time even with the smoothest of landings.

So, what I did was use a #11 Exacto knife and cut out what little glue was there so I had a nice flat surface. Then I inserted an
8-32 bolt a short ways into the blind nuts (which were also unglued) and popped them both out. I then cut a 1/8" piece of lite ply to overlay on the hardwood block and used 30 minute epoxy to glue it in place and then added some triangle stock on top of that to really reinforce it. After the glue dried, I re-drilled the holes for the blind nuts (using the landing gear holes as a template) and reinstalled them. As a last measure, I drilled one additional hole in between the two 8-32 bolts and screwed in one #8 x 1" sheet metal screw.

If you are careful about cutting out the hatch in the canopy floor, it should be very easy to to reinsert it.

*Be sure to put a little vaseline or something similar in the blind nuts to be sure epoxy doesn't get into them too.