Leg fairing hinge

I am starting my leg fairings an wheel pants. I am a little confused by the instructions. There is a step after you cut the fairing to length using he plans template where they have you fit it to the leg and use spring clamps to attach it to the leg. It is then that they want you to drill the hinge to the fairing. If I read this correct they want this done with the fairing on the plane, or can one do this on the bench. Once you have it clamped in place and know here the hinge needs to go it seems you can drill the hinge to the fairing on the bench but maybe I am missing something?

Anyone who has led the way, I sure would appreciate some amplifying information. 1.1 hours to go till phase two and a trip to Texas for paint!

Cheers
Mike

Mike, I would use the rough cut out that is in the plans to make the initial cut on the Leg Fairing. After that is done, the Hinge can be drilled to the fairing before it ever gets on the plane, the biggest thing with the hinge is to ensure there is no twist in the trailing edge of the fairing when it is clecoed on. from this point you can trim the hinge and the fairing at the same time to the desired length as you trial fit it on the leg fairing.

This is at least how I did mine. Not sure if its the right way but it worked pretty well.

-david

Here's another way

In my first 2 RV's I didn't use the hinge method to put on the gearleg fairings. What I did was run a dam of flox down the V where the hinge would normally go. Put release tape on ONE side so that when the mixture hardens, you now have two mating surfaces. I then ran a strip of 3m vhb doublestick tape down one edge, put the fairings in place and then removed the opposite side so that the rear now was taped together at the seam. It is then very easy to do inspections by taking a razor, slitting the tape and remove the fairing. Just re-apply the tape and seal the seam together when you finish your inspection.

Same as Flyguytki ...

I did the same he did and drilled them on the bench. Worked fine.

Mike,
I did mine before I had mounted the gear to the plane so I put the gear on the bench and drilled the hinge to the fairing still on the gear. If you get it to tight it will be hard to get the pin in and if you get it too lose the fairing will not close together in the back. I had a little trouble getting mine right and had to fill in holes and redo one of them. Just make sure you have the hinge in the right position before you drill the fairing.