Brief Description: Fabricate access plates for landing gear boxes
I debated this mod a bit but most builders recommend enlarging the access holes in the landing gear boxes to facilitate inspection and periodic tightening of the landing gear bolts. There are also some other components that get routed through this area that might be easier to maintain given a larger access hole. Anyway, after researching some other builder sites I settled on the mod shown in the pictures below.
I began by removing the metal between the two lightening holes just above the landing gear weldment. I clamped a piece of aluminum angle between the holes to use as a guide and cut with a Dremel tool. The resulting hole was then smoothed with a file, deburred, and polished with a scotchbrite wheel.
I ordered a piece of aluminum from Van's in the same thickness as the gear box assembly. I cut two identical cover plates and cleaned the edges up with the scotchbrite wheel. The next task will be to match drill these to the gear boxes. The last task for this evening was to mark the screw holes using approximately the same spacing as the rivets in the gear boxes. A rivet fan makes quick work of determiining equal spacing.
