November 19, 2006 HOME

I had installed the left gear leg bracket 2 years ago.  All it needed was drilling of the forward support to the fuselage.  Two 5/16 holes and it's done.

I removed the left bracket and deburred the holes all around with a little angle die grinder.

The right gear leg bracket was still in a box.  I drilled out the holes to remove the excess paint.

I installed the right gear leg bracket for drilling.  It has to be bolted snugly in place so it wont wiggle around while you are drilling.  It's likely to move because you need some force to drill through the steel plate.

Now for the drilling part.  I tried drilling while the fuselage was right-side-up, but I couldn't keep from moving around on me.  By laying it on its side, I could put substantial downward force on it and it wouldn't go anywhere.

   

Below is just another picture of drilling the bracket.  You drill through the outer skin and longeron in 5 places.  It's pretty tedious.

 

At last!  The final hole is drilled!

For a change of pace, I opened the Cleveland Wheels box.  They do a nice job of packing the wheels and brake calipers.  The bearings are in the wheels and pre-greased, but I'll probably grease them again anyway.  Good measure, you know...

 

In preparation for mounting the wheels and brakes on the axle you often have to use a little emery cloth to get a good fit.  I used number 400 wet-dry sandpaper and it only took a few minutes to get it just right on each axle.

I drilled out the brackets and fit them to the axle.  That's all for now...

 

 

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