Gear weldment gap

[jlfernan]

My right weldment went in great except the flange where the five bolts come thru the skin. I've got a gap of about .063". Anyone have this problem and any solutions? All my bolt holes and rivets seem perfect. The hole around the leg hole doesn't appear to touch anything.

 

[Paul Eastham]

On mine, there was a rivet at the aft edge that interfered. Van's said, "oh yeah, you need to relieve the weldment to clear that rivet". Never mind that I had already bolted the thing onto the center section!

 

[rv9av8tr]

MLG flange fitup

Do you have at least most of the bolts slid thru the bracket into the spar to ensure you have the correct left-right alignment, especially the spar "midline foot"? Mine was a tight fit, and took a little jiggling to get all the bolts through the spar, then did the fuselage match drilling. This weekend I bolted my brackets in and had no problems. (I tried to insert a picture but can't figure out how).

Mike "Bladerunner" Rhodes
RV-9A Fuse

 

[kentb]

You may be doing to good of job...

The hole where the gear leg passes through the fuse look very tight. Check to see if the weld is not touching the fuse hole. You will need clearance to allow the weld to set inside your hole.

Kent

 

[mdoyle]

I had the same problem, and it turned out to be the gear leg hole in the fuselage. I thought it was clearing, but one of the weld fillets was hitting the skin preventing the weldment to fit properly. Enlarged the opening and everything fit fine.

 

[jlfernan]

All my bolts went in, a couple were a little snug. I opened the leg hole some more which brought it closer, but there is still a .032 gap. I sent an email to Vans with a photo and am waiting a response.

 

[jlfernan]

Response from Ken Scott at Vans:"Certainly close enough. You can shim if you like". I work for the Govt. and it's close enough for government work. I'm still going to look for any other obstructions, but if nothing changes, this gap will be fine.