Alan,
Not to but in, but the reason for putting the top on is that that makes
the fuselage quite stiff. If the wing pins and tail plane tubes as well
as tail post are all square and level, it would also be ridged enough to
stay that way. So when you jig the aircraft to put the trigear on a
closed out fuselage, any slight warpage from the installation of the
gear would be resisted.
Please note that with the top on, the glassing is challenging, you will
have some back aches, chest bruising and appreciate people who are five
foot and 100 lbs. with see in the dark capability.
With proper jigging it is quite easy to install the gear with the top
off. As Ian and Fred have commented, it is far more comfortable
spending the time peering in over the side with an unobstructed view of
your work. It is necessary to build a platform for the fuselage that
allows you to get the tail and fuselage alignment spot on. I even cleco
on the top and prep for glue up as it isn't perfectly square all the
time right out of the box. If the one side of the top is cut 1 mm
shorter than the other, you have a leaning tail post. Sometimes the
tail plane tube is a bit off from the actual wing pins so they need to
be shored up to level. Put timbers from the floor to the tail tube and
shore up until level with the wing pins and I have always had good luck
with a nice straight aircraft. I recommend gluing in your baggage bay
in as well.(Yes, I put the wing pins or bolts in the fuselage and level
the plane by putting a 40 inch long angle stock on the bar and compare
to the tailplane tube, rather than with a level across the seat back.
Leveling across the seat back has not been as reliable in my
experience.) Once jigged solid I can consider the gear.
Once all jigged, then take your time to get the fuselage centerline
scribed or marked to the floor, then set your trigear angle stock jig
piece precisely. Glue it all in place to the floor to prevent movement
during initial assembly. Then do your leg assembly in an upright
fashion with good posture and lighting. Cut paper templates of your
gear braces out and check for fit rather than trusting your templates.
The templates are very close, but your holes will vary a little and a
nip and tuck may be needed for a good fit. The glass it up. Finally, the
placement of wiring, brake lines, fuel tubing, rudder cable guides and
fairleads, autopilots, ELTs, antennas, fuel drains, battery boxes,
solenoids, tailplane trim bar travel, tie downs, the baggage bay, flap
drives, etc. can all be installed comfortably. I even trial fit my tabs
on top of the tail post and cut my bump stop before final glue up of the
top. Just add Redux and glue on the top when ready. It is all about the
prep.
If you have problems jigging the aircraft in your shop, then by all
means put the top on, get someone five foot and 100 pounds and pay them
to glass in the gear. If no person of that stature lives around you,
then build up a platform to stand on, buy some nice lighting which is
cool and work from the sides with plenty of ventilation. It is hard on
the back, but can be done with only a couple days needed for back
recovery.
Only a neophyte looks at the top on the airplane and thinks, "there, the
fuselage is done, lets go fly". Better to have everything open until
well into the project then a closeout party later on when everything you
can think of is done on your punch list for the fuselage and wings
internals. No one ever sees all the details inside that big simple
model airplane shell, but those details are the real part of aircraft
building...
Regards,
Bud Yerly
Custom Flight Creations, Inc.
Europa Tech Support
www.customflightcreations.com<http://www.customflightcreations.com/>
(813) 653-4989
----- Original Message -----
From: Allan Skanderup Nielsen<mailto:allan_skanderup@hotmail.com>
To: europa-list@matronics.com<mailto:europa-list@matronics.com>
Sent: Wednesday, May 25, 2011 12:33 PM
Subject: Europa-List: Fitting of main landing gear on XS-Tri
I have reached the stage where it would be natural to fit the main
landing gear as access is easy and the top moulding is not in the way
yet, but according to the flow chart in the manual page 10T-1 I should
not fit the main landing gear before the top moulding is fitted.
My question is: Is it allright to fit the main landing gear before the
top moulding?
Kind regards,
Allan Skanderup Nielsen
Kit no. 0622, Denmark.
http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Europa-List<http://www.matronics.com/N
avigator?Europa-List>
http://www.matronics.com/contribution<http://www.matronics.com/contributi
on>
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