If you have the Vans drawings for the pressure recovery wheel pants that is a big help. The intersection fairings at the wheel pants will keep the gear leg fairing from moving downward and the upper intersection fairings will locate the gear leg fairing.
The wheel pant brackets will need some "adjustment" to fit the wheel pants correctly.
Check the tire pressure, chock the wheels securely and level the airplane. Make some marks on the floor to establish alignment. Mark the center of both ends of the main pants vertically and horizontally. Make some kind of simple jig for quickly establishing the aft end of the main pants.
PM me as you progress and I will have more suggestions.
Wheel pants are a lot of work if you haven't figured that out already.
I have the usb for RV7, 14 and 10. Which drawings specifically and what is a pressure recovery wheel pant?
I also have RV Bits Upper and Lower Gear fairings. Sure hope they are better than the plenum. Looks like I get to sand off more gel coat. Hate that stuff.
Larry, the Van's RV-7 construction manual has a pretty good write-up with photos on how to do the gear leg fairing and wheel pants alignment. They also go into a lot of detail on how to make your own intersection fairings, but I opted for buying pre-made versions and that worked out well. I think I got mine from Fairings Etc.; the fit & finish were excellent.
The manual describes how you go about reinforcing the finger joint on the gear leg fairing where the hose clamps grab the upper end--you absolutely want to do that. I'd recommend using some carbon fiber strips there for the extra strength. Don't be stingy here. But the other guys are correct in their replies here, as the intersection fairing will hold it all in place.
And the "pressure recovery" wheel pants are what Van's supplies with kits these days (at least for the better part of this century). I followed their instructions and it all came out fine.
For my RV8, the wheel fairings and leg fairings were completed using the plans build instructions. The left and right wheel fairings were aligned using the simple contraption in the picture below, keeping the left and right ends in alignment and the cant angles the same on both sides. The holes for the clecos were closed with micros when done.
I decided to mold the intersection fairings myself instead of buying from the suppliers. For the negative mold, I use the soft non-hardending modeling clay from https://smile.amazon.com/Sargent-Art-Plastilina-Modeling-2-Pound/dp/B00FR7TQOM/ref=sr_1_4?crid=2L3IUY1UIHWFV&keywords=modeling+clay&qid=1656598702&s=arts-crafts&sprefix=modeling+clay%2Carts-crafts%2C586&sr=1-4. I tried to use the window sealant foam but it was messy and difficult to clean.
This stuff doesn't harden but you can shape it and it keeps it shape firmly enough for molding. I used 3 layers of fiberglass after a few liberal coatings of PVA mold release. After demolding, I had to coat the exterior with epoxy and micro and sanded smooth. The added thickness smooth out the bumps and added additional stiffness to the intersection fairing. The last picture shows the intersection fairing pieces after they were painted with primer.
Phat,
I have t sets of pre built fairing junctions and both are ****. .
I tried to use the window sealant foam but it was messy and difficult to clean.
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Whenever possible, make your lower fairings integral with the wheel pants. Less drag, fewer parts. Smaller is better.
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I guess I'm down two strikes, is what I'm saying.
Strike 1. The Van's lower intersection fairings did not work well. The forward section was okay, but the aft sections needed so much work to align, etc, that we tossed them.
Strike 2. I attempted to fab from scratch the aft fairings to match the forward section I was retaining. This got ugly fast, and I never did find out how to get the lower side of the aft fairings to remain in close contact with the underside of the gear leg. Gravity is a B%$&h.
So, I'm preparing for the third pitch, Non-Van's pre-made intersection fairings. I see Fairings Etc and RV Bits selling fairings. Looking for feedback or suggestions on them or others. I have the Grove Airfoil Gear, so their profile is actually different from a standard faired Van's legs.
I guess I'm down two strikes, is what I'm saying.
Strike 1. The Van's lower intersection fairings did not work well. The forward section was okay, but the aft sections needed so much work to align, etc, that we tossed them.
Strike 2. I attempted to fab from scratch the aft fairings to match the forward section I was retaining. This got ugly fast, and I never did find out how to get the lower side of the aft fairings to remain in close contact with the underside of the gear leg. Gravity is a B%$&h.
So, I'm preparing for the third pitch, Non-Van's pre-made intersection fairings. I see Fairings Etc and RV Bits selling fairings. Looking for feedback or suggestions on them or others. I have the Grove Airfoil Gear, so their profile is actually different from a standard faired Van's legs.
Regarding Larry's original observation that the "hose clamp seems like a failure waiting to happen," I was thinking about somehow attaching the gear leg fairing to the lower intersection fairing with screws through the intersection fairing into nut plates on the inside of the gear leg fairing. I don't have my plane here to visualize whether that would work or not, but I know after only 1 flight with the fairings on I'm already developing stress pre-cracks on those fiberglass "tongues" that you hose clamp to the legs.
Regarding Larry's original observation that the "hose clamp seems like a failure waiting to happen," I was thinking about somehow attaching the gear leg fairing to the lower intersection fairing with screws through the intersection fairing into nut plates on the inside of the gear leg fairing. I don't have my plane here to visualize whether that would work or not, but I know after only 1 flight with the fairings on I'm already developing stress pre-cracks on those fiberglass "tongues" that you hose clamp to the legs.
Regarding Larry's original observation that the "hose clamp seems like a failure waiting to happen," I was thinking about somehow attaching the gear leg fairing to the lower intersection fairing with screws through the intersection fairing into nut plates on the inside of the gear leg fairing. I don't have my plane here to visualize whether that would work or not, but I know after only 1 flight with the fairings on I'm already developing stress pre-cracks on those fiberglass "tongues" that you hose clamp to the legs.