What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

wheel pants

D

dick seiders

Well Known Member
On page 36-02, step 2. Does this apply to all 4 of the U00002 brkts, or just the outboard brkts? (wingtip side of wheel pants)? Maybe I am not seeing it , but instructions are not clear to me in regard to this.
Thanks
Dick Seiders
 
Hey Dick, got tired of waiting so went to the "Man". Van's says place it on both U0002's, both ends, if you like, as it won't hurt anything, and may do a better job of stabilizing the pants when all is said and done. So, that's what I am doing. Thanks. Thought someone out there might like to know.
Dick Seiders
 
Sorry, I don't get it

I can't speak for anyone else, but I didn't reply because I don't understand what you mean. I can't find a call out for U00002 brackets on page 36-02. The page 36-02 that I have says for step 2 to trim the tire opening.
 
Intersection Fairings?

Has anybody fabricated intersection fairings or gear leg fairings? Or located anyone who has?

The aftermarket fairings I put on my 6A were so much better than the ones I fabricated (circa 1996). I am of course interested only in aesthetics here; ahem, airspeed is not a consideration.

Jim
RV-12 N233TX
Flying 22 hours
 
I have copied some instructions for making your own Jim, I will add those AND main gear leg fairings on mine, for looks only of course. I will email you the plans.

N223JH said:
Has anybody fabricated intersection fairings or gear leg fairings? Or located anyone who has?

The aftermarket fairings I put on my 6A were so much better than the ones I fabricated (circa 1996). I am of course interested only in aesthetics here; ahem, airspeed is not a consideration.

Jim
RV-12 N233TX
Flying 22 hours
Click to expand...
 
Steve Rush, sorry, I just HAVE to get better lighting in my garage. It's page 36-07 (not 36-02) regarding the epoxy applied to the mtg brackets.
Thanks.
Dick Seiders
 
Timely Post

Dick,

Thanks for clearing that up. I had similar concerns over that step. I did it this past weekend, but I still don't know if it is really necessary or what the goal we are trying to achieve is.

I couldn't figure out how in the world to get epoxy on the pants and then assemble everything and not scrape off most of the epoxy applied during installation, so I didn't do it the way the instructions called out.

I used the method that is called out for the nose gear leg fairing for the two screw holes on the side of the gear leg. I put the pants on and got everything where is should be then mixed up the epoxy as called out and put it in a syringe. I then took one screw out at a time and injected epoxy between the fairing and the bracket and got little circles of epoxy around each screw hole.

This method was easier and the end result looks good, but since I don't understand what the purpose of the exercise was I can't say for sure if I met the intent, but it looks good.

By the way, I did do it for all 8 of the screws on each fairing.

Thanks
 
Thanks, Steve. I am not certain of purpose, but believe it is to provide a "curb" to hold the bracket relative to it's position with the wheel pant. Can't think of any other reason for doing it. I suspect the epoxy curb takes some of the vibration load off of the screws holding the pant to the bracket so they don't "work" the fibreglas. Didn't have to do it on the 6A tho, and I never had a problem with the pants drifting from postion. I am thinking I might assemble the brackets to the pants and then do the epoxy. Then dis- assemble after epoxy sets and assemble pants and brackets to the wheel.
The screws will fix the bracket location fairly precisely so I suspect alignment of the pants will be as intended.
If anyone has any thoughts on that method please advise.
Dick Seiders
 
Glass bedding the brackets

I glass bedded the brackets to the fairings as the plans instructed. Reminded me a bit of my shooting days and how the amorers used to glass bed the actions in the match rifles.

My interpretation was that all the ends of the brackets were to be bedded. The plans say to tape the brackets to prevent adhesion, and a release agent is also needed or the tape becomes a part of the fairing. Even so, it takes a good pull to break free the fairing from the bracket after the epoxy sets. Yes, you do get some smearing of the epoxy when it is wet and you are fitting the fairings on, and you do need care to be sure epoxy does not overlap the bracket which would make for a disassembly problem.

In order to glass in the bracket with everything dismounted, you would have to remove the wheels again and take apart the brakes and axles. That sounds like too much additional work. And, I don't think I would trust the bracket screw holes to ensure everything lined up precisely. But, I've been wrong before :eek:.

Tony
 
Hey Tony, thanks for the feedback. I think I might trust the screw locations as they were dimpled on the pants, and the brackets fit perfectly. That suggests I may be able to use the method I described. Also I pulled the wheels and installed the u00003's last week. Unless I am overlooking something (again) that's the only reason to yank the wheels. The u00004's, and all the brackets go on with the wheels on. So if I epoxy the brackets to the assembled pants then dis-assemble and put the brackets on the wheel mounts I am ready to install the pants to the brackets w/o pulling the wheels again. Am I missing something here?
Dick Seiders.
 
You have it right Dick, my statement about having to remove the wheels again was incorrect. I violated the rule to check the plans first instead of going from memory :eek:.

If your method works out it may be a whole lot easier. One problem might be prying the bracket loose after the epoxy has set. With the bracket mounted on the gear you have something to pull against to get it apart.

Report back on how it goes.

Tony
 
more on wheel pants

I am still planning on the epoxy plan for the mains I mentioned earlier, but in the course of completing the nose wheel pant I found the need for a suggestion. The fitup of the edges of the mating parts for the nose wheel are a bit of a challenge using the plans as presently outlined. I submit that Step 1 and 2 on page 36-09 should follow Step 3 on page 36-10. Also the drill template shold be centered on the assembly before drilling the four locating holes. Further on Step 3 of 36-10 the drill template should be bolted to the u00006L and R (all 4 bolts), and remain in that position until Steps 1 and 2 on page 36-09 are completed. The reason being that it is near impossible to get a good fit of the fore and aft pants to each other w/o the final fwd pant shape which is determined by the drill template. This change in sequence will permit a much improved uniform joint alignment of the two components. Comments invited.
Dick Seiders
 
Glass Bedding - Page 36-07 Step 2

Tony_T said:
I glass bedded the brackets to the fairings as the plans instructed. Reminded me a bit of my shooting days and how the amorers used to glass bed the actions in the match rifles.
..snip..

In order to glass in the bracket with everything dismounted, you would have to remove the wheels again and take apart the brakes and axles. That sounds like too much additional work. And, I don't think I would trust the bracket screw holes to ensure everything lined up precisely.

Tony
Click to expand...

I have all parts in the home garage and have not yet mounted the U-00002 brackets to the axle. Have a very good fit between the front and aft main gear wheelpant pieces and the dimples/holes on both sides of wheelpant align perfectly with the holes in the left side and right side U-00002 brackets.

Seems as though the final position of the U-00002 bracket relative to the wheelpant pieces is fixed via the bracket dimple/holes and it would be possible to build the glass bed with epoxy/floss mix with everything off of the plane. (Much easier and less messy.)

Does anyone see any downside? Dick, in the end, did you do it this way??

Is there any final adjustment that one can make once the brackets are mounted on the axles prior to performing the epoxy step?
 
Last edited:
Marty, thanks for the call. If I understood you correctly you followed the nosewheel suggestion and it worked for you. Great! Regarding the mains I did as I said in my post and the result was very satisfying to me. The 12 looks very nice with the pants and I am pleased to say I've received some nice comments on their appearance. Good luck with yours.
Dick Seiders
 
Yes, I followed your suggestion for the nose wheel pant. The plans, really should be changed to install the splice brackets and mount the drill template to square up the forward wheelpant piece before attempting any trimming.

If I had followed the plans, I would of trimmed 1/8" in places to get the forward and aft nose wheelpants to fit together nicely. I would have ended up with some UGLY gaps. Via your method, (installing the splice strip and the drill template, prior to trimming) the front and aft wheeelpant pieces fit PERFECTLY as I had sanded them exactly to the scribe lines. I am happy I took your advice.

Think I ended up trimming less than 1/32" on the aft piece on the right side near the gear leg.

Thanks for the suggestion.

Will also build the epoxy/flox shelf or blanket/beding on the left and right mains at the bracket locations as you have suggested. Will be much easier to do it at home.
 
Last edited:
Also, use Vaseline as your non bond agent as opposed to candle wax (per the plans) on the threads of the screws when you create the epoxy bed for the main gear brackets. Vaseline worked extremely well over the clear tape on the surface of each bracket, the candle wax sort of worked on the thread screws, but just barely. Had a hellava time removing two of the 16 screws with candle wax.

Still do not know why the plans want us to create the expoxy/floss bed.

Maybe Scott will tell us why the bed is required per the plans.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top