Front Gear and Retract System
Installation
We'll be rolling in no time!
Since I am working on this at a much faster pace than most, I am forced to work on multiple projects at once on this kit. As one layup is curing, I'm working on a completely different part. I generally have between 3 and 4 tasks being worked on concurrently. Why do I bring this up now... This "step" was completed over the course of doing several other steps starting with as soon as the keel was finished being installed and going on well past the main spar and main gear installations. I put this post here, because it is now finished, so I can post it.
Last we left off...
During the keel installation, I made a small finder hole in the front of the keel so I could find where the front landing gear attachment bolt went.
Now it was time to drill the real hole. This was fun. Notice that the large hole saw I was using would not fit in this little angle head, so I had to put in a nut driver of the correct size to turn the hole saw. This was very flimsy, but with a little care worked just fine. Again an actual angle drill would have been nice here, but not worth buying just for this.
With the gear attachment bolt holes drilled, I could test fit everything and mark where the mounting plates went.
Here's the mounting plate being marked where to install.
Side note: but another example of questionable parts from the factory. At this point the kit has been in my shop less than 6 months, and all the small parts are still in their original ziplock bags, but this is how the gear attach collet came out of the bag... Did I mention that my shop is climate controlled?
Not good.
Good thing I had a bench grinder with a wire wheel....
It took a while, but eventually I got it cleaned up. The rust had been sever enough that the finish is would have required heavy grinding to restore, but this isn't a visible part, and with the rust gone this would do. The collets were then primed with rust inhibitor and painted black.
Now was time to align the gear attachment holes to each other. Now I learned through doing it that the front gear attach bolt gets installed and removed several times during this stage of construction; so much so that the protective coating got almost completely worn off. Therefore, I highly recommend getting a "cheap" hardware bolt of the same size for all the fitting, and leave the aviation grade bolt for final assembly, as it is MUCH more expensive.
Once I knew this bold was not going to be used for final assembly, I ground the tip into a point, to make getting through the bushings on the other side of the keel easier.
Well, depending on how you look at it, the holes are either pretty close to aligned, since the bolt touches the collet on the other side; however, in terms getting perfectly aligned there was a lot to do. Those hole are tight and thick so small movements take a lot of fitting! I guess I could have taken lots away in bulk and filled it back in later, but keeping it as tight as possible now will make it that much sturdier later.
Eventually, I got the brackets aligned and the bolt all the way through!
Once the gear attach bolt mounts were aligned, the front gear could be test fitted.
Here's the front gear leg without the tire sitting in place. Just to make sure everything is fitting properly before permanently bonding anything.
Here's the top of the gear leg showing where the captivator will go.
As it is, the gear cannot move, due to the front bulkhead blocking it.
I cut out the diagram from the instruction manual for cutting the gear clearance hole, and I'm GLAD I looked into it more. The blue tape on the top left of the cutout template is covering a big extra hole for back when the gear doors were controlled hydraulically. With the new mechanical system, that part of the hole doesn't need to be cut out anymore; too bad the instructions haven't been updated in almost 20 years...
With all the test fitting complete it was time to permanently bond in the mounting brackets.
Now for the retract system.
The first thing I did was figure out what all goes where. Still had no idea how it all worked, but at least I knew I had all the parts and how they attached to each other.
For once, at least the rust red color of these parts was actually just a coat of primer, not actual rust.
The first step was installing the front gear captivator. This is the part that the gear arm "locks" into when fully lowered.
The first step was to mark the installation location, based on the manual. The captivator gets custom fitted, so the location it is installed does not need to be too precise.
Once you've made your mark, you cover it up! As always this was done as a plastic transfer layup. The marks for where the captivator goes were really just to make sure the layup covered the entire area. Now as long as the captivator is fully within the reinforcement and centered, it will work.
From the front, the captivator bolts and nuts almost makes a face with the cut out for the leg.
Here is the captivator installed. It really was super easy, just bolt it in place and then a lot of pulling it in and out while slowing fitting it to the gear leg. It's kind of a catch 22: you could use an angle grinder, so you could grind it in place, but working in such a confined space, you'd want to pull it out anyway.
With the captivator installed the rest of the installation could proceed. I chose to leave all the parts assembled and slide them all in place together.
I chose to start aligning everything with the hydraulic cylinder; unfortunately, that is where things took a left turn...
When I set the front gear hydraulic ram in the location it the manual specified to mount it, the hardopint in the floor did not line up. I figured it was just another change in the construction that did not show up in the outdated manual, so I called the factory to get the "new" numbers...
Well, no; the numbers have not changed. According to the factory guy in charge of making the kits and assisting builders it is "impossible" for him to have made a mistake, and I must have installed the front bulkhead wrong, because there is no way he could have installed the hardpoints wrong. So of course I verified with him that the location of the front bulkhead had not changed, which it had not, but he insisted the ONLY POSSIBLE cause of the error was that bulkhead (from which the measurement to the hardpoint is taken) was installed in the wrong place. I even verified the measurements while he was on the phone, but HE could never make a mistake; End of discussion. What a jerk! Not to mention he was quite rude about it. I went into this assuming it was not anyone's fault, just another change in the design. I don't work with him anymore for anything.
Here is my front gear hydraulic ram with the stock designed mount in the correct location. Note that only 2 of the 4 bolts would have barely engaged the hardpoint, and the ram in not long enough to move farther back and according to the factory all 4 bolts MUST be securely fastened into the hardpoint.
Some how all 3 of my retract system hard points (one for front gear and two for mains) are installed 2" too far back.
I was very despondent about building this kit at this point. The instructions are wrong, the factory screwed up my kit, and now there is no factory support, since I don't trust the guy who does factory support. I took a couple days off and really had to dig deep. Finally, I decided it was too early to quit, and just like back in the Marine Corps, when you are dealing with an idiot, you just go up the chain of command till you find someone who knows what they're doing.
So, I went up the chain and contacted the company VP of engineering and told him what happened; I now only deal with him. He knows what he's talking about. Fortunately, as the guy who really knows what he's doing he told me the only modification needed would be to make a new hydraulic ram mount out of some more angle aluminum; he offered to make it for me, but I was more than happy enough to do it.
While I was still upset, and even today am still bothered by it, I had a solution and was excited to get back at it!
So time to fix their mistake, and get working again!
The first step in making a new ram mount was to get measurements of exactly where everything was.
The mount made to the factory specs is on the left. On the right is the new mount I designed and made to correct the factory production error. I wonder how many other SE's were made like this...
The radius was designed so that the ram is free to rotate around the mounting bolt as the gear goes up and down through it's range of motion. It's basically the stock mounts, just stretched 2" back so it engages the hardpoints.
Now, after quite a huge side track and return journey, I could get back to fitting the retract system.
6 washers total are needed at the connection between the gear arm and the hydraulic ram. Not sure why it needs so much room, but I like that I don't think it could ever bind up there.
Next was installing the upper pivot point mounts.
This was pretty straight forward and went smoothly. You can see the wood reinforcement under the fiberglass reinforcement under the metal reinforcement plate. This seams like it's pretty solid to me!
Here is the pivot bolt head and the bolts holding the mounting bracket in place.
Another easy task was installing the over center gas spring mount down near the floor of the keel.
Here is the gas spring attached on the inside of the keel.
Here is the hydraulic ram in place with over center gas spring installed on the left. While it was a simple part to install and seems minor, this guy is what makes sure your gear actually lock when they go down, so it is VERY important.
Next was the nose gear guides.
Looking at the instructions and making my own measurements, I'm sure the factory design is good enough, but I felt a couple ounces of extra fiberglass, for bigger guides just seemed better. So I slightly extended them in all directions, especially up.
Here are the nose wheel guides temped in place. These guys keep the nose wheel straight while retracted, so the wheel doesn't get stuck from getting turned while in there. Not sure what would be worse, the nose wheel getting stuck and not being able to come down, or it ripping it's way through the floor and coming out sideways! either way, I shouldn't have to worry about that with these installed.
A nice bead of adhesive and the guides are done. Another quick and easy job!
With that the gear is all temped in and fitted! But That's not the end of it...
Here is the wheel installed and the gear leg temped into the fuselage.
The first thing was to put a coat of zinc primer on all the metal parts and then paint them.
The gear leg was painted white and everything else black, including the gear "arm" which is just the leg above the attachment bolt. So that part is half black and half white. But you can't really ever see both sides of it at the same time once installed, so it works.
The nut holding the wheel on was not easy; that is one HUGE nut. My only options were to run to the hardware store and see if they had a socket big enough, or use these channel locks, which is not my favorite tool. Ultimately, it was no issue though. I know I dinged the paint on the leg a bit, but touch up should be easy.
Now it was time for final installation of everything!
Here's the retract system all painted and installed. Notice the metal parts are now painted black. Well, almost fully installed... The bolts holding the ram in place are actually wood screws into the carriage beneath. The fuselage is glued and spray foam bedded; I'm not taking it off all that just for a couple bolts! Those will be an easy trade out later when it's off the carriage anyway.
Another view: the retract system from the top looking back.
It's hard to see in the dark, but here the gear arm is securely wedged into the captivator.
And finally, the front gear is installed and able to bear weight! Yes, it already got a nice big mar in the paint dead center, but that'll cover over easy when it's time for paint. It now has 3 legs and 1 wheel, maybe I should install those rear wheels... Eventually, but I got bigger projects to work on for now!