Date:	4-21-2007
Number of Hours:	3.50
Brief Description:	Landing Gear, Etc.
I had put the gear on temporarily before. Today I decided that I wasn't going to remove them and put the fuselage back onto the "rotisserie." That gizmo really makes working on the fuselage easier, but I'd rather attach the tail and wings (soon) permanently and keep moving towards completion. So, today I hoisted the plane up and finalized the whhel installations and got everything torqued and sealed. (Pic1 shows the right gear). I also drilled the axle and installed the cotter pin securing the wheel nut. I finished the right wing tank forward attach point (Pic2). These are pretty cool devices--they hold the weight of the tank under G loading (like acro!), but are made to breakaway in the event of an off-field landing. I did have to use AN4 bolts for the right side since I ended up with oblong holes when I drilled everything, I spoke with Van's Aircraft about the holes and they recommended using the AN4 bolts. So, the right side uses larger bolts than the left. While I had Van's on the phone I asaked about my idea to enlarge the hole in the elevator rib to allow the quick-disconnect to pass through without having to un-solder everything. No problem. So, I enlarged the hole to the same size at the lightening hole in the elevator horn and installed a rubber grommet to prevent chafing. Works really well. the plug passes through and it is protected. I also added 3 layers of heatshrink to the wire where it passes through the wire clip on the rear HS spar (center of Pic3). The wire slides back and forth as the elevator moves and I wanted alot of anti-chafe protection.