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Nose gear replacement question

JimMac

Active Member
I’m about to start the nose gear replacement on a flying RV12 and I have a question:
Is it difficult to keep the drill guide bushing held tight in the hole with one hand while you drill with the other hand? If it is, could I put a couple of dots of red RTV adhesive on the guide bushing to hold it in place while I drill?
 
Probably. But a lot of us inserted them into a piece of rigid plastic tubing that was shorter than the drill but and used it to hold the bushings in place. You can find the thread on this subject where it was described by several builders.
 
Guess it depends on your dexterity, arm length, etc. I managed to do it without any extra pvc guides or rtv. But have longer arms and still somewhat flexible. I will say the toughest hole is the first one. After that goes through, the updrilling was pretty simple and quick.
 
I taped the guide to the drill bit with blue painters tape. Leave 1/16 of the bit out of the guide to start. The guide will work its way up the drill bit as the hole gets deeper. I have done 3 nose gears with this method, no issues.

FYI, this only requires one hand to drill the hole. If the tape is wrapped around the large diameter of the guide and the drill bit it will stay put without anything additional.
 
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Take a section of hinge wire, welding rod, coat hanger, etc. and use a mini hose clamp to attach the wire to the drill guide. You can lean in, hold the guide with one hand and run the drill with the other. Very easy and quick.
 
Clever!

Take a section of hinge wire, welding rod, coat hanger, etc. and use a mini hose clamp to attach the wire to the drill guide. You can lean in, hold the guide with one hand and run the drill with the other. Very easy and quick.

Very good Dave!
Where were you when I was doing mine! 😄
 
Just got notified that Van's is shipping my nose gear leg retrofit kit, revised nose wheel fork and the engine mount stand off. Looks like I get to tear apart my plane again soon!

I have read everything, but have a question about the gear leg installation. Why does the leg mount have to be match drilled in place on the airplane? Could the hole locations not be marked by making a tracing of the old leg mounting plate and then flip it over to mark the location on the new leg mounting plate?

Yes, I'm really dreading working down under the instrument panel again.. It took my body days to recover from last time..

Thanks!
 
there are two mounting plates on the nose gear leg.

The top plate that mounts to the firewall will be drilled with the same exact pattern as your old one but it might not perfectly match the relationship to the lower plate that mounts to the underside of the fuselage.

The process it to slide the new leg in place behind the motor mount. Put the lower mounting plate bolts in place under the fuselage (at the very bottom of the firewall). Make sure the leg is vertical and match drill the new top plate holes.

I am trying to keep it simple and basic, hope that makes sense.
 
there are two mounting plates on the nose gear leg.

The top plate that mounts to the firewall will be drilled with the same exact pattern as your old one but it might not perfectly match the relationship to the lower plate that mounts to the underside of the fuselage

Thanks Walt..
 
I taped the guide to the drill bit (tape on the rear of the guide going up the drill bit) with a couple wraps of painters masking tape, sloppy job. leave the tip of the bit out of the guide about 1/16". This makes the drilling a one hand job. The guide will stay in the hole and the drill bit will slide forward as needed.

The drill bits that I got from vans were not of the best quality, the price was right so I didn't complain), several dulled after one hole. I resharpened them as necessary and the job went ok. Do run the drill slow and use boelube or similar.

I have done 3 legs and it isn't all that bad. In my opinion taking the plane apart is a much bigger task than fitting the gear leg.
 
I used some old PVC pipe i had laying around.. about 3 feet long.. the last 1" or so, I cut the pipe in half.

Once I had the drill lined up with the guide on the bit. I used the PVC pipe to put pressure on the guide to hold it against the firewall.

It wasn't a hard job to do.. just take your time.
 
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