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Q: Prefer Method To Mounting Landing Gear

PhatRV

Well Known Member
I am at the stage that I need to permanently mount my landing gear before I go further with the avionic installation.

My question is what prefer method to mount the landing gear on to the RV8 fuselage? Right side up or upside down? I had flipped the fuselage upside down to drill out the landing gear. I prefer to keep it right side up this time when I fasten all the bolts, because I am gun shy with all the work that has gone into the fuselage. I am working by myself so flipping the fuse with one person has always been a hairy process before. Nothing went wrong but I am not pushing my luck.

If I choose to work right side up, what is the best method to raise the fuselage from the ground (4" off the deck) to the right height? I don't have the rotisserie so I think I need a couple of saw horse. Where is the best place to position the sawhorse?


Thanks,
Phat Vu
 
If you follow the plans, upside down is the only way to do it. You need 4 plumb bobs to align the gear properly when you clamp the straight edges to the gear.
 
If you’ve already aligned and final drilled the gear legs per the plans, it doesn’t matter. You’re just assembling it now.

If the engine is not mounted, a sawhorse under the spar carry through works. Put some ballast on the tail for good measure.
 
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Get a Harbor F engine stand and fasten it to the firewall. Easy for one person to rotate to any position.
 
If you?ve already aligned and final drilled the gear legs per the plans, it doesn?t matter. You?re just assembling it now.

If the engine is not mounted, a sawhorse under the spar carry through works. Put some ballast on the tail for good measure.

I think this is the route. I already drilled the gear months ago. I just need to extend the spar spacer so I can slide the sawhorse underneath. The spacers are too short to safely position the fuse at the moment.

Get a Harbor F engine stand and fasten it to the firewall. Easy for one person to rotate to any position.

This is an option I may explore because I have to get the engine stand to mount the engine. Money is tight after purchasing the avionics so I will have to wait a bit longer to get that engine :(
 
What did you do for the backside?

Used a low horse with a v cut in the top board to hold the tailwheel stinger. Ability to rotate the fuselage is handy for lots of other things besides the gear. It made one man riveting, installing fuel lines, etc more accessible.
 
Gear Alignment

I did not use the plumb bob approach to aligning my gear. With the fuselage upside down I installed two pieces of aluminum angle 4 feet long to each gear leg that were held in place with the inboard bolt. I measured the exact distance between the gear legs and cut a piece of plywood to EXACTLY that width. By placing the plywood in both angles it held the gear legs in alignment parallel with each other...they will not move with the plywood in place. Worked for me.
 
I started to mount the gear by extending the spar-spacers and mount them on a couple of saw horses. I am surprise of the step angle of the RV8 with the nose pointing up but I should get used to it now after 7 months of working with the fuselage that sat almost horizontally.

One problem I encountered is the stock close-tolerance bolts are too short for the NAS nuts that I replaced in the kit. So I had to remove the gear and order new bolts. While I wait for the shipping of the new bolts and hope they will be long enough, I am going back to wiring and crimping electrical connectors.

BTW, these close tolerance NAS bolts are expensive. They only sell 5 bolts in a package, costing $70 total, minus shipping+tax.
 
Out of curiosity, what part of the avionics installation requires mounting the gear? Or maybe I'm misreading cause-and-effect from your original post?

I ask because it's been my intention to do as much work as possible while the fuselage can still be mounted in the rotisserie and rolled to ease interior access - and having the gear legs in place will definitely put an end to rotisserie use.
 
put it on the gear

Once you have it on the gear, you can also elevate the tail to keep it horizontal. Then build some long tables about 6'x2'x18" for each side to stand on. Makes working inside and outside the aircraft a breeze. I saw this idea in a photo of a Lockheed factory many years ago. Make sure you weigh down the tail before installing the engine.
 
Out of curiosity, what part of the avionics installation requires mounting the gear? Or maybe I'm misreading cause-and-effect from your original post?

I ask because it's been my intention to do as much work as possible while the fuselage can still be mounted in the rotisserie and rolled to ease interior access - and having the gear legs in place will definitely put an end to rotisserie use.

The RV8 avionic shelf covers the landing gear tower so instead of working around the avionics and myriad of wiring to access the landing gear bolts, I want to get the gear bolted and torqued and not having to worry about carefully navigating the avionic area later. Some people have the gear tower cutout made to make this job easier. I kept my gear tower as stock for now.

I have my panel on the bench right now as I wire the various DB connectors but at some point in the future, all the wiring must be made semi-permanent to the switches, power source, and ground.
 
Once you have it on the gear, you can also elevate the tail to keep it horizontal. Then build some long tables about 6'x2'x18" for each side to stand on. Makes working inside and outside the aircraft a breeze. I saw this idea in a photo of a Lockheed factory many years ago. Make sure you weigh down the tail before installing the engine.

Thanks for the tip. Leaning over the very tall forward fuselage is a pain.
 
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