Upper / Lower intersection fairing question

[noelf]

I have just finished installing the wheel pants and gear leg fairings on my -6A. This was done with the aircraft on jacks to remove the load from the gear legs as detailed in the construction manual.

Do I need to keep the aircraft on jacks while I am fabricating the intersection fairings, or can the a/c be siting on the ground?

[Rick6a]

Originally Posted by noelf

.....Do I need to keep the aircraft on jacks while I am fabricating the intersection fairings, or can the a/c be siting on the ground?

I discovered an irritating and completely avoidable defect after I fitted the upper nose wheel intersection fairing on my -6A. The fairing was fitted before the wings were attached or any other meaningful weight applied to load up the nose gear. Later on, early flights uncovered a disconcerting cosmetic defect in that as the nose gear flexed during routine operations, it caused the paint to abrade away where the leg fairing and intersection fairing make local contact. Had I originally fitted the upper intersection fairing with the nose gear loaded up to simulate gross weight conditions, that minor albeit irritating defect would likely not have occurred.

[pierre smith]

...we used some leftover clear flap tape and it worked well. Did you eventually put something there?

Best,

[Rick6a]

Originally Posted by pierre smith

...we used some leftover clear flap tape and it worked well. Did you eventually put something there?

Best,

Pierre,

Nah, With the paint scraped away, the cosmetic damage has already been done. Clear flap tape would just add a bit of gloss to it! Besides, a casual observer would have to get up close to really see it any way.

Like any builder, I KNOW where all the warts are hidden and every time I do maintenance work around that fairing, that wart serves as a constant reminder of my fallibility as a builder.