Brief Description: Begin main landing gear installation
I received an unexpected sales offer today for a complete RV-8 instrument panel with a full array of steam gauge instruments (flight and engine), radio, GPS, autopilot, servos, and a complete wiring harness (plug and play). Needless to say, I spent some time considering the question of round gauges versus glass and the cost differences. I wasn't planning to make this decision just yet but the price is good enough to move instrumentation up in my RV-8 priorities.
I spent just a little time in the shop this afternoon completing some minor riveting that I somehow missed when finishing the mid-cabin fuselage skins (cockpit rails to upper longeron). This took just a few minutes so I then began the landing gear installation.
First, the 7/16" and 1/4" holes in the WD-813 weldments were final drilled to remove any powder coating and correct misalignment with holes in the F-822 fwd floor panel. The gear legs were mated to the U-804 inboard main gear attach brackets and the U-804 brackets were match drilled to the gear legs (7/16" hole). The U-804 brackets were removed and marked left and right. Finally, the inboard wear plates (U-806) were match drilled to the U-804 brackets (the 7/16" hole).
The next step requires the fuselage be inverted. My son is planning to drop by tomorrow and help me flip the structure.
