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APACHE 56

Well Known Member
I discovered today that the Grove (airfoiled RV8) U-803 outboard main gear attach bracket bolt holes do not line up with the Vans U-805 wear plate. They are off ~ .003-.005. Putting a square to them I find that they have warped slightly due perhaps to the process of beveling the LG mating surface.
A couple of solutions come to mind. One is to drill the bolt hole to the next larger size. The other is to carefully bend the piece back to square (my preferred approach).
Has any of the Grove users encountered this issue and what did you do about it?
Any thoughts on my alternatives (I emphatically solicit any and all suggestions).
thanks,
Don
 
I have not actually held one of these brackets in my hand, but I have seen the standard brackets for the steel gear, so with that in mind, I would say the best way is to carefully bend that bracket back into shape.

You may be able to get some hardware store bolts that are 4-5 inches long and place them through the holes and place the bolts in a vise to push them together so you have some extra leverage and control when trying to straighten the bracket.

It may also benefit you to give Grove a call and see what they say before you try to do anything. They may just send you a new bracket, you never know.
 
Grove bracket issue

Richard,
I did indeed call Grove as well as send out a mayday to this forum. They agreed that the "bend" approach is the appropriate way to correct the bracket. Machining the bridge is the culprit in that it gets pretty hot.
Thanks,
Don
 
I've only just finished my wings so I don't have any experience with this so...

Does .005 - 1/200 of an inch really interfere with placing the bolts in? They must be really high tolerance.
 
Grove Gear

The outboard attach bolts are close tolerance, so yes any misalignment would be an issue.

I just finished drilling my attach brackets and didn't have any issues.

Mike
 
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