I started the prep work for mounting the main landing gear struts today. A radiused router bit was used to round the upper edge of the gear leg. This radius is added for the comfort of future short-legged pilots whose legs may come in contact with this edge. The radius was enlarged with abrasive discs then Scotch pads mounted on a die grinder.
The die grinder was also used to remove the slight machining marks and break any other sharp edges from the fabrication processes. The entire strut was then polished with the die grinder, the holes deburred, then solvent washed. The left strut was then primed with a self etching primer. These struts are fabricated from 7075-T6 aluminum, so they are subject to corrosion. The primer will provide protection until the final paint job.
