Quote:
Originally Posted by lon@carolon.net
10-15 minutes is remarkable. It took me much longer to get the fairings off, and it seemed to me that putting them back on would be an all-day affair. Do you do something to get the tires up off the ground? I bought an L-shaped screwdriver for the screws on the bottoms of the fairings, but even with that tool, getting those screws out was tricky.
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It's possibly more like 20-30 minutes? Certainly no longer than that. The bottom screw is a PITA but I use a ratcheting screwdriver as others have mentioned for those. Mine is like this:
https://www.amazon.com/Neiko-03044A-...lose-Quarters/
I then use an electric driver for all the other screws. I had a relatively cheap SKIL branded one from WalMart for a long but which worked fine, but recently upgraded to a Bosch PS22-02 that I love. It doesn't really matter much though as long as there's an electric motor spinning that screw and not your arm. It's important to use one that has a torque clutch though. It takes some practice to not cam out the relatively soft stainless steal screws when using an electric driver but it's SO MUCH FASTER. I'd suggest buying lots of spare screws (100s) and aggressively throw away any that do cam out. They're cheap and the time you save is definitely worth it.
Taking them off shouldn't take very long. Getting them back on takes a bit longer but also isn't a huge deal. To get the screw holes to line up I have a few screwdrivers where the end has been ground to a relatively sharp point that I stick through the hole and through the nutplate to hold things in place while I add screws in other holes. Finger tighten a couple screws in a few threads until everything is in place, then go and put in the rest of the screws with just your fingers or a driver... a couple threads, just enough to know you're not inserting the screws cross threaded. Then come through with the electric driver to tighten everything down - being careful to set the torque clutch setting on the screwdriver such that you don't over-torque the screw and damage the fiberglass. For some of the lower screws it's helpful to put an extension on the driver since it makes it easier to get the correct angle. With practice you'll get pretty quick at it.
Also, if you don't already have one, get a shop creeper. It makes moving around under the plane a LOT easier. Just don't run into the radio antenna.
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