Brief Description: Gear Leg Fairing shimmy dampeners
RV-7A landing gear is straight tube-style steel rod, which can have the tendency to shimmy depending on conditions. To reduce this tendency, Vans recommends epoxying a slat of wood on the gear leg's trailing edge. I crafted these slats from wood trim from the Home Depot Aviation Supply department.
I first cut the slat to length, then sanded it down to shape based on the Vans plans. It doesn't have to be pretty, just fit inside the fairing. In Image 2, I'm test-fitting the dampener to the right gear leg. I marked locations the brake line zip-ties: I later sanded notches into the dampeners to allow for these zip-ties. Image 3 shows the notches: I ran new temporary zip ties through clear vinyl tubing, which I later pulled out of the slots after the epoxy dried.
Image 3 shows the left slat taped into place while the epoxy/flox faxitive dries. I used West Systems fast-drying epoxy hardener, hoping I could finish the job soon.
