Hi folks,
Having failed to learn the lesson that each variation from Van's standard costs a bunch of time, I invested in SJ wheel pants. I am in the process of fitting them and hoped someone else has been there before me.
The actual fit between the front and rear halves is not very good. I started out by cutting a portion out of the bottom (where the tire comes through) so that I could mate the halves. I started by sanding the front half to get the rear surface flat--so it would sit up on a flat surface with the edges even. I then used a dremel tool to route out the back until it mated evenly all the way around. I am not entirely sure that it is perfectly straight. Suggestions for how to measure that?
I am using Grove airfoil gear, so that slightly changes how they fit on the gear. I cut a groove for the gear and then spent a long time scratching my head. Sam marks a spot for the axle. As I understand his instructions, I drill a 1/4" hole on the outside of the pant and fit a large aluminium washer where the X is placed. It looks like the next step is to bolt that on and then align the rest of the pant around that bolt. Is this correct?
The plane is an RV 8 tail dragger. It looks like I put it on its gear and then
block the end of the pant up 1 1/2" with a piece of two by four. The remaining dimensions would be to parallel it with the tire tread (camber adjustment) and then measure fore and aft ends and make them equidistant from the aircraft center line (zero toe-in in inflight position).
I have the inboard and outboard wheel pant brackets that came with my finishing kit. Looks like I discard the outboard bracket. Sam's instructions say that I can use the inboard bracket but will have to bend it. That would leave the pant supported by the 1/4" bolt going through the outboard side into the axle and the four #8 screws going to the inboard Van's bracket. Is this sufficient support? I guess that the idea is to figure out where the pant is supposed to be and then bend the bracket to hold it there.
Anyway, I am entirely new to the process. I hoped I could benefit from the
group's experience.
Regards,
Michael Wynn
RV 8
San Ramon, CA
Having failed to learn the lesson that each variation from Van's standard costs a bunch of time, I invested in SJ wheel pants. I am in the process of fitting them and hoped someone else has been there before me.
The actual fit between the front and rear halves is not very good. I started out by cutting a portion out of the bottom (where the tire comes through) so that I could mate the halves. I started by sanding the front half to get the rear surface flat--so it would sit up on a flat surface with the edges even. I then used a dremel tool to route out the back until it mated evenly all the way around. I am not entirely sure that it is perfectly straight. Suggestions for how to measure that?
I am using Grove airfoil gear, so that slightly changes how they fit on the gear. I cut a groove for the gear and then spent a long time scratching my head. Sam marks a spot for the axle. As I understand his instructions, I drill a 1/4" hole on the outside of the pant and fit a large aluminium washer where the X is placed. It looks like the next step is to bolt that on and then align the rest of the pant around that bolt. Is this correct?
The plane is an RV 8 tail dragger. It looks like I put it on its gear and then
block the end of the pant up 1 1/2" with a piece of two by four. The remaining dimensions would be to parallel it with the tire tread (camber adjustment) and then measure fore and aft ends and make them equidistant from the aircraft center line (zero toe-in in inflight position).
I have the inboard and outboard wheel pant brackets that came with my finishing kit. Looks like I discard the outboard bracket. Sam's instructions say that I can use the inboard bracket but will have to bend it. That would leave the pant supported by the 1/4" bolt going through the outboard side into the axle and the four #8 screws going to the inboard Van's bracket. Is this sufficient support? I guess that the idea is to figure out where the pant is supposed to be and then bend the bracket to hold it there.
Anyway, I am entirely new to the process. I hoped I could benefit from the
group's experience.
Regards,
Michael Wynn
RV 8
San Ramon, CA
