Retrofitting nose wheel fairing to new brackets

[Rick_Luck]

I just started the nose wheel S.B. on my 2002 RV9A today. My plane has the old style brackets for attaching the nose wheel fairing to the fork, using the axel - which is a real pain. The original builder (I'm 2nd owner) followed the instructions at the time, and riveted the old brackets to the wheel pant and didn't use nut plates, as some of you later and smarter builders did. I also see that each side of the old forward brackets now have small cracks radiating from their corners, otherwise it would probably be easier to just replace the revets on the old brackets with nut plates.

Anyhow, it looks to me, that to utilize the new brackets, I have to:

#1. Place the new brackets inside the fairing so that the holes for the axel and allen screw are aligned with the old bracket holes. Mark the various corners of the new bracket onto the inside of the fairing.

#2. Drill out rivets in fairing holding old brackets in place. Discard the old brackets and fill old holes in fairing - 8 each side + one 1" hole for filling tire valve, which will now covered by the new bracket location.

#3 Add nut plates to the new brackets. Drill new holes for machine screws, which will now hold the fairing to the brackets (4 each side) + 1 new hole for filling the tire valve.

The accuracy of this process concerns me, since laying the new brackets on top of the old ones doesn't place the corners right down onto the inside of the fairing for scribing. There has to be some judgement involved, trying to scribe with the bracket as far as 3/8" away from the inside wall.

Am I also looking at this correctly, or am I missing something? Is there an easier way to do this. Also, in order for this to be correct, both the allen screw and the axel have to be positioned exactly in the same spots, using the new fork as they formerly were with the old fork. From posts I've read, that appears to be the situation. Has anyone else out there done this conversion from the old brackets - reveted to the wheel pants to the new brackets?

Any help is appreciated.

Rick Luck
RV9A
N109RV, 229 hrs

[bhester]

My wheel pant was still unfinished (clear). I removed the old brackets installed the new ones on the nose wheel slid the wheel pant on and lined up the axle hole and then installed my tow bar thru the holes at the allen head bolts. I had all ready drilled rivet holes in the new brackets. I then drilled the rivet hole in the wheel pant. Took it all apart and layed up a layer of fiberglass over the axle hole and old rivet holes, epoxied and riveted the the brackets on. Not sure how you would do it if the pant was already painted.

[robertahegy]

I needed to sand off the paint to see the new brackets through the fiberglass so I could line it all up and mount it. Removal of the old brackets and grinding old fiberglass reinforcement was done first along with repairing the old holes and reinforcing the pant at new attach locations. Riveting the brackets properly will last just as long, if not longer, as the nut plates and screws. Like Bhester mentioned, fiberglass the brackets in after riveting. Use plenty of epoxy and rivets and add some extra holes in the bracket flanges for resin to seep through. This method gives a nice clean look with the only visible attachments being the 6 screws that hold the front part of the pant to the rear and the holes for the towbar where the allen screws are that hold the rear part of the pant on. Very easy removal for airing tire without loosening axle.

Roberta

[Rick_Luck]

So there's 2 totally different approaches to the fairing attachment.

Method A: The brackets stay attached to the fork and the fairing is removed by unscrewing 8 flush mounted or rounded head machine screws, which are exposed on the outside of the fairing. Simple, straight forward but esthetically not an A+.

Method B: The brackets are flush reveted &/or epoxied to the inside of the fairing. To remove the fairing, the tow bar allen screws are removed and the axel is "loosened" to allow the fairing bracket to slide to the rear and off of the fork, flexing the front of the fairing slightly as it passed over the fork.


Is this correct? This is what I'm getting from the various posts. Am I missing any pro's or cons to either method?

Thanks again.

Rick Luck
RV9A, N109RV
229 Hrs

[alcladrv]

Could someone share the hardware callouts for the axel bolt and associated washers when using the new nose wheel fairing brackets?

Thanks,

Mike

[robertahegy]

As I pointed out, you need not loosen the axle bolt to remove the wheel pant. The hole in the bracket for the axle is slotted (by the builder) to allow the bracket to slide off the axle. There are spacer washers on the axle that are sized to allow the slotted part of the brackets to pass over and between them and the fork. This allows you remove the pant without disturbing your axle torque. The washer sizes and locations are called out on the new version of drawing C1.

The axle and wheel are assembled without the pant bracket in place. Starting with the bolt an 060 25783054 washer is installed, then an AN960-616 washer, then an AN960-616L. Then the axle bolt is installed with the wheel and bearings into the fork, followed by the same stack of washers in the reverse order on the other side of the fork and finally the AN365-624 nut. The wheel bearings and axle are now torqued to the proper specs. The washer stacks on both sides of the fork forms the channel in which the slot on the wheel pant brackets slides into and captures that part of the wheel pant bracket. Using the washer stack retains the channel for the bracket and makes loosening the axle unnecessary. This prevents you from having to retorque the axle everytime you remove the pant.

This method allows the pant to freely slide off the fork with only needing to remove the screws that join the front and rear halves of the pant and the two front socket head bolts that retain the front of the wheel pant bracket. The axle is not disturbed. The clean look leaves only the holes necessary for the tow bar.

It is important to secure the brackets with proper riveting, drill extra holes in the rivet areas of the bracket to allow resin to seep in all around the bracket, and, finally add extra, glass cloth and resin around the finished rivet areas inside the pant to reinforce the bracket to the pant. Countersink the rivets so that they can be properly buried into the fiberglass for that smooth look.

Hope this helps,

Roberta

[Rick_Luck]

Roberta,

I see it now. Makes imminant sense to me now that you point it out. I was thrown off by the drawing showing the outer-most washer on the axel being larger than the slot in the pant bracket, making me think it was holding the bracket tight against the fork. I see now that the 2 smaller washers provide the clearance so that the bracket is captured but not pressed tight against the fork.

Thanks again for the help. I really appreciate it. I'm going to order all the washers, new Nylock nuts and other hardware this morning.

Rick Luck

[alcladrv]

Originally Posted by robertahegy

The axle and wheel are assembled without the pant bracket in place. Starting with the bolt an 060 25783054 washer is installed, then an AN960-616 washer, then an AN960-616L. Then the axle bolt is installed with the wheel and bearings into the fork, followed by the same stack of washers in the reverse order on the other side of the fork and finally the AN365-624 nut. The wheel bearings and axle are now torqued to the proper specs. The washer stacks on both sides of the fork forms the channel in which the slot on the wheel pant brackets slides into and captures that part of the wheel pant bracket. Using the washer stack retains the channel for the bracket and makes loosening the axle unnecessary. This prevents you from having to retorque the axle everytime you remove the pant.

This method allows the pant to freely slide off the fork with only needing to remove the screws that join the front and rear halves of the pant and the two front socket head bolts that retain the front of the wheel pant bracket. The axle is not disturbed. The clean look leaves only the holes necessary for the tow bar.

It is important to secure the brackets with proper riveting, drill extra holes in the rivet areas of the bracket to allow resin to seep in all around the bracket, and, finally add extra, glass cloth and resin around the finished rivet areas inside the pant to reinforce the bracket to the pant. Countersink the rivets so that they can be properly buried into the fiberglass for that smooth look.

Hope this helps,

Roberta

Thanks, Roberta.

I have the older style U-813C side brackets attaching my nosewheel fairing to the fork and don't have a copy of the updated C1 drawing.

A couple of questions: Is the required bolt the same length as before?

If I slot the old U-813C brackets from the bottom, is it possible to accomplish the same ease of fairing removal, after removing the nose cone and tow bar allen head bolts, by rotating the back part of the nose wheel fairing aft to clear the gear leg fairing and lifting it off? Just looking for an interim solution until I can get the mod done.

Mike

[robertahegy]

The problem with slotting the bottom is you need to do it vertically. I did that on my old brackets. You still have to tighten the axle over the bracket and use a large flat washer on each side to keep the brackets in place or the back of the pant may pop up. The other problem was raising the pant to clear the slot, the pant hit the leg fairing. It might be possible to put a horizontal slot in the old brackets, but you would need to cut the leading edge to accomodate the bolt and nut on the axle. But engaging the bracket to the axle will be hard as it is buried in the pant and hard to see. The new brackets have a long horizontal slot and can't pop up and is easy to engage the axle. I really think the new brackets are worth the trouble.

The axle bolt is the same, an AN6-60A.

Roberta

[alcladrv]

Thanks, Roberta