Brief Description: Installed the main landing gear
At 1615 zulu today, 17 Jun 13, my baby grew legs and stood upright on her own for the first time. Wow, just look at those GAMS! And that's without her nylons (fairings). I installed the main gear with upgraded hardware (bolts, nuts, and washers). I fabricated the same self-locking feature on the nuts as done earlier with the stock nuts. The old and new hardware is shown below. I have included a picture showing the new nut with the self-locking device fitted down in the gear weldment. I put hardened smaller diameter washers under the four nuts. The new nuts are 7/16" so they actually were easier to fit than the larger stock components.
I was able to install the gear by myself. I first installed the U brackets loosely leaving out the large center bolt on the inboard brackets. I attached my shop hoist to a nylon strap (double thickness) tied to the engine mount and lifted the fuselage enough to slip the two gear legs into place. I then inserted the large center bolt in the inboard bracket to hold it and lowered the fuselage just a bit to put a little pressure on the gear legs. I then torqued the brackets per the shop instructions.
