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Advise needed drilling main gear bolts

wfinnell

Well Known Member
Hi Guys,

I am getting ready to drill the main gear on my RV-8 and I have everything all lined up.

A long long time ago... after I screwed up a part, by drilling a hole in the wrong spot. My tech adviser (Paul Merems) told me, ? you should never drill a hole unless you know exactly where it will come out?. I am starting to hear these words in my sleep.

The problem is, I can't figure out how to do that inside the gear tower. And the penalty for failure is huge. I have the U-805 wear plate positioned exactly 3/16? from the edge of the lower longeron, but how can I ensure that the hole will come out in the center of the weldment? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you in advance,
 
I understand your concern, I followed the directions exactly and made sure I drilled straight and it came out fine. It is tight inside the outboard gearbox. I might mention also that I used different hardware than vans sent there were some problems with the nuts on the large bolts. Contact Tom Brink at gahco, he has setup a complete landing gear setup hardware for the rv8. Mine was the prototype. I'm not flying yet but I'm sure I will have no problems at all with the hardware. It is installed.

Bird
 
Don't Worry.......

I had the same concerns and mine all worked out perfect! It was one of those moments when you realize just how great these kits are! And, how cool you are, to be able to make it work out right! One word of advice, use "titanium" or "cobalt" drill bits and plenty of "boelube". I didn't have a single problem drilling correctly and quickly...... "I AM A MASTER AEROPLANE BUILDER"! At least that's how I felt when the bit came through in the right place......



 
Hi Bill

I gleaned various tips and help from this forum and placed them into a guide (link is here on my Kitlog page). I know how you feel but it all came out fine and 200 hrs so far without any gear leg alignment issues.

Only pain is torqueing the NAS bolts - but that's covered elsewhere in depth.
 
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