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Wheel Pants - Alignment

Phil

Well Known Member
I'm taking advantage of this mild weather to tackle a frustrating task. :D

Is this alignment correct on the rear of the mains (with regard to rotation)?

The bar on the left is a level that is perfectly square with the floor. The smaller bar on the right is a jig I built to rest the back of the wheelpant on, so it's always held level.

The difference between the two is what has me concerned. Should the aft end of the wheelpants match the square on the left, or is it correct?

I'm guessing it's correct, but I'd like to put my mind at ease.

Phil



532020_3392806832868_1650597149_2855014_575271941_n.jpg
 
Phil, I believe mine look just like that. There would be no more drag by having them twisted that direction and it looks right when there is weight on the wheels. It would look funny if the pants where twisted the other way when weight was on the wheels.
 
Thanks Sean...

Curious to see what others say too.

BTW - Those aren't my man boobs in the background. That's my dad. :D
 
I think the important alignment is that nose to tail is parallel to the axis of the airplane, nose to tail. If that's off you'll notice a change in rudder needed to fly level, and more drag. Because of the funny gear leg geometry, the nose-aft direction rotates a bit when you un-weight the wheel.
 
I was a little curious who's moob tubes those belong to.:confused:
Maybe a bro is in order?

That will be us before you know it!
 
If you aligned the fairing with the square on the left, you'd be aligning the fairing with the floor and, of course, you don't want to do that.

I just finished this with a 7A and on A models, the tire as she sits (or "he," I'm not sure which) is not parallel to the floor. In the 7A instructions, in fact, it notes that you're basically aligning with the tire tread. That's what Van's says, anyway

This is problematic with the wheel pant aft edge because you still have to align it with the parallel centerline of the airplane. For that, I just chose the midpoint of the trailing edge, dropped a plumb bob to the floor and used that line.

I also used an alternative method -- I ran a laser level up the middle of the tire and down the fairing.

2012-03-05_18-36-42_622.jpg


The two methods yielded roughly (and by "roughly" I mean within 1/16" of an inch) the same results.

I just wrote about it here.
 
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