Project: Estevan   -  
            Listing for Category : sec 46a tglw
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Builder Name:Estevan Bataglia   -  
Project:   Vans - RV-14A   -   VIEW REPORTS
Total Hours:2228.7
Start/Last Date:Feb 15, 2020 - No Finish Date
Engine:Lycoming Thunderbolt TB-390-EXP119
Propeller:Hartzell - Alum, 2 Blade 74in
Panel:Garmin G3X
 
Friendly URL: https://eaabuilderslog.org?s=Estevan

Home or Last Project Picture

Apr 01, 2024     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 15 - (1.5 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
Final test fit of all fairings.

https://youtu.be/SqDJONqFKCA



 
Mar 28, 2024     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 14 - (2.1 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
Today I did a quick fix on a pinhole I found on the firewall and I am adding more epoxy in the interior of the main wheel fairings to make better support for the screws.

https://youtu.be/vr4P-dlqfHQ



 
Jan 23, 2024     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 13 - (1.7 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
I found an accessory to protect the front wheel pants that I think is a must. It is a pair of aluminum rings that sandwich the fairing skin and protect it from damage caused by a tow bar.

The process of installing it is simple. Align the ring, mark the wheel pant hole locations, sand the material out to accommodate the rings, glue, and rivet in place. The "glue" used is tank sealant. A very small bead is enough.

I also took the opportunity to adjust the symmetry of the enlarged nose wheel leg hole. It was just weird. Functionally speaking, It wasn't necessary but aesthetically, looks much better now. I think I can even live with the fact that I messed up the fairing positioning. :)

5 grams of sealant used.

https://youtu.be/2h--KhvZdCA



 
Dec 21, 2023     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 12 - (6 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
With this last session, I finished all landing gear fairings. Now there are no pending sections to be worked out until the engine arrives. My installation of the nose wheel pants ended up a little higher than it should have. I think what I did wrong was the positioning of the wood block on top of the wheel. The result is that the opening for the axle had to be much larger to accommodate the turning of the nose wheel. It could have been better but it is only aesthetic. Functionally, the landing gear and fairings are great.

I also had a big challenge with trying to guess the hole locations to drill the opaque fiberglass pieces. For the top hole for the AN3 bolt, I was able to use an old model airplane technique, by sticking a thick tape and sliding the piece underneath it with the hole location marked on the tape. (see picture 455.25). For the bottom screws, I made a mess with the first one and, for the second one, I sanded off the primer paint a little bit, like Van's suggested in the instructions, and the result was much better. Nevertheless, I believe the leg fairing thickness is too little to accommodate the countersinking. But it worked well.

https://youtu.be/bp8_ThgQNZg



 
Dec 19, 2023     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 10 - (3.9 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
I've started working on the front wheel fairings. The process begins with general cleaning of the parts and making the edges of the halves width-consistent and clean. After that, we must determine the centerline and forward and aft center points. Drilled #40 at the screw locations and next is installing and fitting it on the landing gear.

https://youtu.be/sr4_M2lWb-k



 
Dec 18, 2023     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 9 - (4.3 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
In this work session, I am finishing the main landing gear fairings. The final steps are to sand smooth the wheel fairing barb created to interface with the leg fairing and apply some tapes for friction protection and sealing. These tapes are required only after painting is done but, given that I will put in at least 100 hours before painting, I thought installing them at this point would be a good idea. I see those as consumables.

https://youtu.be/2ZS2557vaAA



 
Dec 14, 2023     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 7 - (6.3 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
I continued working on the fiberglass fairings. This time I am working on the transition from wheel pants to landing gear leg and from landing gear leg to airplane belly. This step requires to have no weight on the landing gears so I improvised a jack for the airplane using 2x4s and a couple of stews. It worked well and looks very stable.

https://youtu.be/uEARZ9h5VLA



 
Dec 12, 2023     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 6 - (5.5 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
In this work session, I worked on the leg fairings for the main landing gear. For this job, Van's instructions are not so good. The plan instructions take into account fairings that are transparent and they are not. So I had to come up with a different approach to be able to match drill the opaque fairings. My idea was to match drill from the outside with the hinges flipped. This approach demands a very precise drilling alignment because when you move the parts to the inside, the holes might misalign. I've got a couple of holes per hinge that I had to ream but in general, it worked out great.

My left leg hinge slightly moved when drilling towards the aft of the leg which caused the trailing edge to be a little bit open on the upper portion. Fortunately, after final assembly in the leg, the trailing edge closed nicely. (see pics 348.29 and 348.31).

https://youtu.be/hi8zrGbO-XU



 
Dec 10, 2023     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 4 - (3.7 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
I continued working on the wheel pants. The epoxy in the interior dried and the outcome is pretty good given that I was expecting it to be a total disaster. The remaining steps were simple. Install nutplates, machine countersink the places for screw heads, and re-install the wheel pant. Very happy with the results.

https://youtu.be/8FR6hXMnwQw



 
Dec 08, 2023     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 3 - (3.9 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
In this work session, I am adjusting the wheel pants openings and making a bed of epoxy resin to surround the wheel pants brackets. A simple task that proved itself very complex... I am not happy as hell with the results and I am simply hoping it will be functional.

There is a lot of luck and little technique involved as it is impossible to see the brackets while installing the pants. Unless I had the plane upside down... :/

https://youtu.be/RjrLj5gh9JY



 
Dec 07, 2023     Section 46A - Tricycle Gear Leg and Wheel Fairings 2 - (1.6 hours)       Category: Sec 46A TGLW
Installing the wheel pants bracket into the landing gear.

https://youtu.be/8nkqeSKCeuA



 
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