WHEEL PANT MOUNTING QUESTION

[rv7guy2]

I'm currently 3/4's of the way through my 25 hour test period and was working on my wheel pant installation and have a question. The drawings show an approximate hight of mid point the wheel pants as being 8 5/8 inches with the plane in the level flight attitude. Mine works out to 7 1/4 inches with the one inch spacing from the top of the tire to the inside edge of the top of wheel pant. The tire is blown up to 30 psi and I know the wheels have been some what depressed by the weight of the plane. Is this hight acceptable or should I raise the wheel pant a little higher ? What has been your experience ?

Dave
RV-7 C-GCPD

 

[DGlaeser]

Wheels should be off the ground...

First, in order to get good 'in flight' alignment you should jack the plane and get the wheels off the ground. The gear does move a fair amount.
Second, the height of the fairings is basically set by putting a 1" block or dowel on top of the tire. Then get the fairing fwd and aft height measurements the same (will depend on how far off the ground the wheels are). At the same time you need to get the fairings parallel to the a/c centerline, and angled (roll-wise) the same as the tire. Lots of fun
Good luck!

 

[robertahegy]

Ditto what Dennis wrote. You really need to get the plane off the ground and level. Strike a centerline and parallel lines for the mains. You need to align the leg fairings as well. Follow the instructions and take your time. Accurate alignment will help ensure better flight characteristics and more speed.

Roberta