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Jims RV-8
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Date: 8-1-2023
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Number of Hours: 4.70
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Manual Reference: 10-3
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Brief Description: Landing Gear Fairing #12
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The next step is to align the gear leg to the airstream so that it is as drag-free as possible, meaning that it isn't acting as a canard elevator by adding neither up nor down force but neutral. I put packaging tape on the inside of the top of the fairing as I still need to be able to slide the hinge pin out and open the fairing to remove it for maintenance, etc. To protect the hinge from foam, I pulled a long section of cling wrap and pulled it tight against the hinge to keep the foam out of the hinge as much as possible. I also applied a mist of PVA (release agent) to the packaging tape on the gear leg and let it dry, as I wanted to be ready to shoot the expanding foam. As my buddy Rob has already been down the "custom" gear fairing road, I leaned heavily on his prior experience and will use his methods. His method is to align the fairing using string to replicate the identical center point of the gear leg on a jig placed a distance behind the fairing and then run multiple string lines that start and end in the "center point" of the gear leg jig. Then it's a matter of aligning the trailing edge of the fairing in the center of the upper and lower string. Sounds easy. Well, after running the lines from the jig and placing some foam inserts inside the leading and trailing ends of the fairing, I started the alignment measuring process. After a few hours and many iterations of moving and measuring the fairing, I got it as close as possible, set it with gorilla tape, and shot the foam. We will have to let this dry and hope it sticks in the places I want it to and doesn't stick where it isn't needed.
As I update this log entry I see that I just clicked over the 3,000 hour mark... so there is that.
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initial setting and beginning of alignment process with strings and laser
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2+ hours later...not much progress
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foam applied...now we wait
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