This must be done very carefully, as small misalignment of the Gear Leg Fairings will result in more drag and even worse if it’s done asymmetrically, it will result in a yaw.

The Gear Leg fairing itself consists of a piece of glass-fiber, with a piano hige riveted in the back. This way you can detach the Fairing by removing the hinge pin.

With just the piano hinge it can still move around the gear leg, so on the top there is also a hose clamp fastening the Fairing into a fixed position, relative to the Gear Leg.

We need to remove the Wheel Pants, so we can insert the piano hinge pin from the bottom up.

We probably made the piano hinge too tight, because it took some effort to get the hinge pin in. I wanted a tight fit, but maybe I’ve overdone it.

We used the Endoscope to check where the pin was going, so we could apply local pressure on the Fairing to align the piano hinge segments.
With some oil and pressure we succeeded in inserting the pin all the way to the top.

Now we can align the marks we made earlier during measurements, position the Fairing and fasten the hose clamp to fix the Fairing to the Gear Leg.

With the experience we gained on the right Gear Leg Fairing, the left one went much easier. We used the endoscope, some oil and voila, Fairing is in place.

Positioning it with the marks and clamping the Fairing to the Gear Leg.

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-12-06)

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-12-12)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets: 60/0  (2020-12-16)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-12-19)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets: 74/0  (2020-12-23)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-12-27)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-01-03)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-01-10)

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There is an inner and an outer bearing and they are separate from the wheels. They are slightly tapered to allow squeezing the wheel tight.

We raised the table that holds the Fuselage, so we can slide the wheel on the axle. You have to remove one part of the brake disc to be able to insert the wheel.

Now we can fasten the wheel by tightening the main wheel nut. You have to torque it so all the play is gone, but the wheel can still run freely. It’s more like a gut feeling.

Once the nut is torqued, a hole is drilled through the thread of the axle, so a large cotter pin can be inserted te prevent the nut of turning loose.

The whole process includes removing and reinserting the wheel several times. But in the end it looks really great.

And SOW the BIG moment! PH-MNX is finally on it’s main gears. So we can remove the table that held the plane for a long time.

I’m really excited to see the plane standing on its own three wheels for the first time.

Next up are the wheel fairings and the gear leg fairings.

Here is the result of yet another great day of working on the plane. the duct tape that holds the brake lines is temporary, until the gear lag fairing will be installed.

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-23)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  2/0  (2020-09-27)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-30)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-10-04)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-10-07)

Video