Looking for Gear Leg Ideas.

[Xkuzme1]

Looking for a better way. What are your ideas.

Hanging my 3rd pair of gear leg fairings. The first two were on an RV-4. The third time is going on an F-4 Raider/Rocket.

I do a lot of grass landings so there is probably more movement than most city planes.

The first time was done via Vans plans and rivets and piano hinges were used. Within a couple hundred hours, there was a ton of smoking rivets.

The second time I used piano hinges and number 4 screws. I simply threaded the #4 screws into the piano hinge. It looks cooler (IMHO) and it has lasted the test of time. I have no problem doing it again if I don’t come up with another idea.

What I’m leaning towards now, is a modified piece of aluminum stock to take the place of the piano hinge. Grind the aluminum stock to match the inside profile of the gear leg. Then drill and tap the angle and use #6 screws and skin washers.

Vans designed a fairly rugged plane, but my intersection fairings, gear leg fairings, and wheel pants always get a little beat up… so this time I want to find a better way. Looking forward to seeing some ideas or hearing some opinions.

Thanks.

X

The pics are my RV-4 gear legs with #4 screws.

 

[Toobuilder]

Always rivet the piano hinges and can’t recall smoking rivets ever. Are you using “soft” or normal rivets? Do you pro seal or JB weld the hinge sections or just rely on the rivets?

 

[Roadjunkie1]

I did the stock (I think!) Van's design using a split upper and lower fairing and hinge setup. I am not a fair-field lander either. I think the two pieces give it the extra flex it needs to put up with rougher terrain. Never had smoking rivets and the system seems to be working just fine. Stainless steel tape strategically placed at spots that rub help keep the aluminum from not wearing from the inside out. I just put on a new gear leg stiffener system using stiff fiberglass rods wrapped with layers of fiberglass. I have not flown since putting it on so the jury is not yet in the courtroom! It might change the dynamics of how the fairings work but I don't think so. I have the short gear. I like them! I think they are better with unforgiving terrain.

I'm also intrigued by your heater setup. Looks like small ceramic heaters and ducting from the Aviation section of Home Depot! I like it! What brand of heaters? Does it work well? KC weather is about like it is here....

What teams are playing the Super Bowl this year......??

 

[Xkuzme1]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the help.

As for the heaters, they are just a cheap Walmart 400 watt heater. I have them taped to dryer ducts. I shove the dryer ducts over my exhaust pipes. I also have a small oil heater pad. I have them connected on to a smart plug. I have Alexa turn them on about an hour before I go fly. I used a smart box for years until my hangar got WiFi.

Works pretty well. Cheap too.

 

[HFS]

Looking for a better way. What are your ideas.

Hanging my 3rd pair of gear leg fairings. The first two were on an RV-4. The third time is going on an F-4 Raider/Rocket.

I do a lot of grass landings so there is probably more movement than most city planes.

The first time was done via Vans plans and rivets and piano hinges were used. Within a couple hundred hours, there was a ton of smoking rivets.

The second time I used piano hinges and number 4 screws. I simply threaded the #4 screws into the piano hinge. It looks cooler (IMHO) and it has lasted the test of time. I have no problem doing it again if I don’t come up with another idea.

What I’m leaning towards now, is a modified piece of aluminum stock to take the place of the piano hinge. Grind the aluminum stock to match the inside profile of the gear leg. Then drill and tap the angle and use #6 screws and skin washers.

Vans designed a fairly rugged plane, but my intersection fairings, gear leg fairings, and wheel pants always get a little beat up… so this time I want to find a better way. Looking forward to seeing some ideas or hearing some opinions.

Thanks.

X

The pics are my RV-4 gear legs with #4 screws.

A couple of pics of what I did on my Rocket (now flying 21+ years) ...

I did split the fairings at midspan to give a less stressful response at times of extreme flexing; and, used hinges (with interlocking overlap at the midspan joint) to close the trailing edges.

HFS

 

[Xkuzme1]

That is really sharp and a good idea. Thanks for sharing

 

[plehrke]

All my piano hinges are pro sealed as well as riveted. It helps distribute the prying loads on the rivet heads that happen when the gear flexes.

 

[Larry DeCamp]

Drill a bunch of small holes in the piano hinge so the proseal,JB or 2216 can ooze through the hole and act like epoxy rivets

 

[HFS]

The Truth About The "Strength" of P/S 870 ...

ProSeal is not an adhesive, at least in the conventional sense. Because Van's has directed it be used in certain situations, the general thinking is that it is a viable adhesive as well as a sealant. Most of the loadings where either ProSeal or an approved aerospace adhesive (3M-2216 Scotch-/Weld for example) is used, are of a overlap shear variety.

Looking at the TDS's below, PRC/DeSoto doesn't even show overlap shear data; and, their tensile strength is listed at 358 psi (about the same as old bubble gum). 3M's spec sheet shows overlap shear of properly prepared aluminum sheets as 3200 psi.

One is a sealant, the other an adhesive, and their use shouldn't be confused.

HFS

 

[sf3543]

Looking for a better way. What are your ideas.

Hanging my 3rd pair of gear leg fairings. The first two were on an RV-4. The third time is going on an F-4 Raider/Rocket.

I do a lot of grass landings so there is probably more movement than most city planes.

The first time was done via Vans plans and rivets and piano hinges were used. Within a couple hundred hours, there was a ton of smoking rivets.

The second time I used piano hinges and number 4 screws. I simply threaded the #4 screws into the piano hinge. It looks cooler (IMHO) and it has lasted the test of time. I have no problem doing it again if I don’t come up with another idea.

What I’m leaning towards now, is a modified piece of aluminum stock to take the place of the piano hinge. Grind the aluminum stock to match the inside profile of the gear leg. Then drill and tap the angle and use #6 screws and skin washers.

Vans designed a fairly rugged plane, but my intersection fairings, gear leg fairings, and wheel pants always get a little beat up… so this time I want to find a better way. Looking forward to seeing some ideas or hearing some opinions.

Thanks.

X

The pics are my RV-4 gear legs with #4 screws.

I’m not sure this is a direct answer to your query, but in the sense of giving ideas here’s how I do mine.
when I make the intersection fairings, I cut out the trailing edge of the gear leg fairings so that the intersection fairings fit in and are flush with the trailing edge And I let the gear leg fairing float between them.
As for the trailing edge of the gear leg fairing I install the hinges as VANs shows,using soft rivets. I never did like the way the trailing edges are supposed to fit tightly together since they sometimes gap open, so I trim off the bottom side of th fairing at the hinge line. Then I just put packing tape along the hinge line,long ways, and use a thick flox mixture to fill it back in creating a wedge on the bottom of the top fairing skin.
This creates a perfectly straight trailing edge that never gaps.
Ive done this on a few planes with lots of hours and haven’t seen any cracking or anything untoward.
just something different.