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Sequence of landing gear installation

O

OH Bob

Member
Hi all, new to the forum.

I'm in the process of finishing up the slow-build fuselage on the fixture. Is there any reason I shouldn't get out of sequence and install the landing gear now, while the fuselage is upside down, firmly attached and level?

Thanx in advance for any input rendered.
 
You might want to fit them

But put off actually putting the airplane up on it's legs as long as you can.

Once the gear are on, you'll need to be up on something everytime you want to work in the airplane on floors, interior, wiring, etc. etc. Much easier if it's at a good working height.
 
Jesse, thanx for your response. Actually, I just planned on fitting the landing gear, then removing them when I took the fuselage off the jig. Any negatives on this scenario?
 
Me too

Bob,
That's what I did. I fixtured everything up and drilled the holes with the gear installed (fuse upside down) and then removed it for convenience until later.
 
Little scaffolds

Jesse, you're the man! When I do get the gear permanently mounted on the fuse, I'll certainly take a look at the HF scaffolds. Thanx again for your helpful comments!
 
Great input

I'm at the same point and had the same question. Never thought through the whole issue of working on the legs.

THX
 
I just had one thought about this, and it might not be a big deal, but when you get around to mounting the roll bar (long after flipping the canoe), you might find that the width of the fuselage at the longerons changes a bit. This would change the angle of the sidewalls by a fractional amount, and might SLIGHTLY change the alignment of the gear. Probably not enough to matter, but I always try and think completely through any change I make to the RV design or build process, because many times, when I change something, it bites me way later on....

Just a thought.

Paul
 
I put mine on the gear when I was ready to hang the engine and just about everything was completed inside the fuse with exception of the canopy.

Regards,

Ken
 
Paul,

Thanx for your input. While the angle of the tires might change somewhat with the addition of the canopy hoop, I am not sure that one would have any control over this item while mounting the gear. As I understand it, the gear mounting procedure only addresses alignment, ie. toe-in and toe-out.

Does anyone know if there is a procedure for checking the tire/wheel angle?
 
removable floor panels

Bob,

Have you riveted the skins yet? I don't mean to hijack the thread but heard it is much easier to fit the floor panels and install all the platenuts while the fuse is in the jig before riveting the skins. I'm currently finishing up the gear towers and haven't thought much about the gear legs yet but will be looking at doing these platenuts soon.
 
Hi Bob,

Perhaps I should have described my project in more detail. Not only am I on a slow build fuselage, but the older one where the bulkheads were not pre-drilled. This project required installing the main upper longeron on the jig, then tying it into the firewall. Next, the un-drilled bulkheads were attached with angle tabs and wood screws to the jig. After much preparation the skins are finally riveted on, starting with the tail first. The last skins to be riveted on are the front side skins, to which the landing gear boxes are attached.

It was at this point that my question arose. Since the fuse is still rigidly mounted to the jig, and in a level position, I thought it prudent to fit the gear to the fuse before taking it off the jig. However, I have no intention to leave the gear on when I remove the fuse from the jig.

With this particular kit, everything had to be built sequentially, and the gear was not to be fitted until after the fuse was removed from the jig. So, I guess my original question only applies to those who slow-built their fuse on a jig. Whew!
 
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