Month: April 2015

Today I worked on the landing gear some more. I wanted to install the 1/4 inch bolts to secure the main gear.  I discovered the upper bolts specified were long enough but I needed a thin washer to get the hole in the castle nut to line up properly.  I also need to get some fender washers for on the end of the bolt to spread the load from the end of the bolt over a larger area of the firewall. The shorter bolts to secure the axle stubs in place were way too long. I ended up ordering shorter bolts for these. I am using the disc brake setup from Sonex so it makes sense since I won’t be installing the cable deflector for the mechanical brakes. I worked at assembling one of the wheels. Once I put air the tube moved and I don’t like the position of the stem. I’m going to have to deflate these and reposition the tube.

I still need a number of parts to complete the landing gear. I reviewed the Sonex revisions list and prepared an order for Aircraft spruce of the hardware, wheels, tires and tubes. I’ll probably upgrade the tires later but I need something for now to get the fuselage on the ground.