Lower Intersection Fairing Fitting

So I have the 10 off the ground, and I've aligned and fitted the gear leg and intersections fairings. I have split the lower fairings so I can epoxy them to the wheel pants. Now to my question. Do I fill the leading edge of the intersection fairing with an epoxy/filler mixture to get a nice snug fit to the gear leg fairing, or does there need to be some gap in there to account for flex when the weight of the plane is on the gear?



As always, many thanks,
Lynn

Most people go for a snug gap. Among other things, that helps the gear leg fairings remain aligned.

Kyle Boatright said:

Most people go for a snug gap. Among other things, that helps the gear leg fairings remain aligned.

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Thanks, maybe I should ask if there is a problem if it is to firmly fitted against the gear leg fairing, just wondering when landing how much all of this flexes.

Lynnb said:

Thanks, maybe I should ask if there is a problem if it is to firmly fitted against the gear leg fairing, just wondering when landing how much all of this flexes.

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I should have worded my response better. A snug (contact) fit is what you want. Wear at the contact point has never been an issue.

The fit should be more snug than what is showing in your picture. There should be a small amount of room for paint and minimal movement. If you tape the gear leg fairing with 3-4 layers of PVC electrical tape, coated with mold release (car wax), then schmutz the fairing with an epoxy-flox mixture about the consistency of peanut butter (dry) and clamp/ clecoe it in place to cure, it should work well. Make sure the inside of the intersection fairing is ready to accept the epoxy - sand with 80 grit, and clean well - blow/vacuum any dust and wipe clean with isopropyl alcohol and let dry before applying the ? schmutz?.

hehe: ? schmutz? I like that. That was kind of the direction I was leaning, or layer glass on up higher to seal the top some. Thanks.

Scott Hersha said:

The fit should be more snug than what is showing in your picture. There should be a small amount of room for paint and minimal movement. If you tape the gear leg fairing with 3-4 layers of PVC electrical tape, coated with mold release (car wax), then schmutz the fairing with an epoxy-flox mixture about the consistency of peanut butter (dry) and clamp/ clecoe it in place to cure, it should work well. Make sure the inside of the intersection fairing is ready to accept the epoxy - sand with 80 grit, and clean well - blow/vacuum any dust and wipe clean with isopropyl alcohol and let dry before applying the ? schmutz?.

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Here is what I recommend. Do not allow the intersection fairing contact the gear leg in the visible location you point to. It will just wear down. I spent hours on my bronze Lindy creating a 3/32 gap all way around with electrical tape. Inside the intersection fairings where you can’t see you can make it tighter if you want to use it to hold the gear leg fairing. My painter then thought he was doing me a favour by filling it in. Looked awesome when I picked it up. Flew home 2 hours with 2 landings and it looked terrible. These parts move. Redid it all and paid $1100 more for refinish and paint before Oshkosh.

I have a pic from a grand champion Pitts I’ll post tomorrow (pic on work computer)

Lynnb said:

So I have the 10 off the ground, and I've aligned and fitted the gear leg and intersections fairings. I have split the lower fairings so I can epoxy them to the wheel pants. Now to my question. Do I fill the leading edge of the intersection fairing with an epoxy/filler mixture to get a nice snug fit to the gear leg fairing, or does there need to be some gap in there to account for flex when the weight of the plane is on the gear?

As always, many thanks,
Lynn

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Pics

Here is what I aim for. The 2nd pics is prob a bit too tight for long term but the wear strip helps.

Thanks Steve. Is that some Anti-chafe tape wrapped around the gear leg where the two meet? I was thinking that would probably be a good idea to put a strip on to keep it from wearing.

tape

Yup antichaff tape. Highly recommended around gear legs and firewall. Avail here and other vendors.

https://www.aircraftspruce.ca/pages/ap/soundproof/teflonantichafetape.php