Landing Gear
How Do I?...
Let's deal with the main landing gear. This one was
tricky until lots of thought, some Jimmy Buffett music and a beverage of choice. It
came to me like a bolt out of the blue.....
| Step 1: First start out with construction the 50 or so 4130 steel parts. Lots of fun. You can see many of the parts gathered here. |
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| Step 2: Now the Construction of the fixture. Measure, cut, measure, cut, measure, start over. This example used the full 1 degree of toe-out. After 90 years of taildraggers, there still is no definitive answer on toe-in or toe-out. |
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| Step 3: Weld up completed assembly. This is what it looked like after welding. Fixture is now a table somewhere in a hanger in Southern California. |  |
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| Step 4: Completed and fitted assembly. Due to close distance of photo, gear looks more toe'd out than it really is. |
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| Step 5: Brake line bosses were attached on upper and lower forward gear legs. Stainless lines were run down back of gear leg. Gear is later faired with balsa and veneer. This example was powder coated which has proved to be a very durable coating. |
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| Step 6: Scott master cylinders were used as heel brakes instead of the mechanical brakes called for in the plans. Cleveland disk brakes are used on the wheels. |  |
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