Hooray....The landing gear are mounted! THE LANDING GEAR ARE
MOUNTED!!!!!!
First step was to mount the rear mounting using only two
bolts at this time. Next the nacelle ring was cut wide enough to allow the
gear to be installed. We threw away the front mount and replaces with
basswood, which width wise, fit between the side and the bulkhead cutout for
the wheel and was the same height of the sides. We located the front bracket
according to the manufacturers instructions and did a test run. The
gear locked into place just like they were supposed to!
Drilling the holes for the front bracket presented some
problems as I don't have a drill to fit inside the nacelle area. We overcame
this by putting a 1/8" bit in the dremel tool and drilled all the way
through the front firewall, then from outside back drilled using the needed
size for the blind nuts. After the blind nuts were installed we mounted the
front brackets to the bulkhead. Once this was done we set back and admired,
worked the gear, and double checked things.
Unfortunately, I still have a lot of things going on so we
called it an early evening once again I know some of you out there think we
are moving too slowly. We feel this is a hobby and not a race, nor do we
have anything to prove. Yes we have been working on this 1 year and 10
months, but the important thing is we are still friends and still working
together. We know of at least one other project this size that did not pass
this test!
-- Gary Himes