Rolling around
Hours: 2.0 | Posted in Gear & FairingsFreezing rain and snow on the way — tonight’s essential task was to get the main gear under the fuselage (Allison’s car needs inside). While this may not be the absolute best way to go — adding the gear lifts the fuselage up quite a ways, meaning any work done over the side will now require a stool — I think it’s the best choice for this project, at this point, since it should let me pretty easily move the fuse around the shop between the “working” configuration and the “parking” configuration.
So, I bolted up the brake brackets and gear legs, omitting the wheel pant brackets for now, as I’ve read they are easy to snag and break while working around the plane. Mounted both tires to the wheels, and put them on the legs with spacers and axle nuts, then removed the sawhorse. I was surprised at how light the tail is in this configuration — will have to remember to be careful loading stuff, including myself, into the cabin, to avoid a nose-ground interface. A sandbag on the aft deck should take care of that issue. I set the tailcone on a caster-base stool, and it’s easy to wheel around the shop, so I’m hoping this will help keep progress going, and a car space open. I’ll have to rework the shop to eliminate some boxes, in order to gain enough length for the engine & mount on the front of the fuse.
