Wheel pant prep

[ge9a]

The weather is less than desirable here, so instead of flying, I'm working on wheel pants and gear leg fairings. After the empennage fairing, I'm a tad burned out on fiberglass - I spent WAY too much time on it right before my first flight. I kept putting it off until it needed to be done to make the plane airworthy. But I'm happy with the way it turned out.

I have the main wheel pant halves mated together (both left and ride side of the plane) and after working on them for quite a while, I think I have the seams mated pretty well. But now the front half of one of the wheel pants sits a little low relative to the back half, all the way around by maybe 1/32" to 3/64" at the worst spots. If you followed my explanation, what have people done to fix this? Sand the rear half to match the front? Seems like a lot to take off. Shim the front on top of the flange to raise the front half when screwed together?

Looking for ideas before I delve in waist deep trying to fix this.

As always, thanks in advance for any help/advice.

[Steve Barnes]

Steve Barnes Fairings-Etc cell (707) 972 3582

[catmandu]

Wow. That is so nice, Steve. I wish I needed fairings, etc. as I would gladly give my business to such an upstanding business owner. Yay, VAF!

[rv8ch]

I'd put the halves together with something that will allow them to come apart again easily, and slather on some micro to make the front match the back. Or, sand the back to mate with the front. If the back gets too thin, just add a layer or two to the inside. Use something between the two halves to make them come apart easy when the micro is dry, like thin clear packing tape.

Lots of ways to sand it - I liked some different grit cloth glued to planks of 1x4, or if you want to get fancy, some of those really nice sanding blocks.

I'm sure one of the more expert guys will chime in with some tips.

[wirejock]

Originally Posted by ge9a

The weather is less than desirable here, so instead of flying, I'm working on wheel pants and gear leg fairings. After the empennage fairing, I'm a tad burned out on fiberglass - I spent WAY too much time on it right before my first flight. I kept putting it off until it needed to be done to make the plane airworthy. But I'm happy with the way it turned out.

I have the main wheel pant halves mated together (both left and ride side of the plane) and after working on them for quite a while, I think I have the seams mated pretty well. But now the front half of one of the wheel pants sits a little low relative to the back half, all the way around by maybe 1/32" to 3/64" at the worst spots. If you followed my explanation, what have people done to fix this? Sand the rear half to match the front? Seems like a lot to take off. Shim the front on top of the flange to raise the front half when screwed together?

Looking for ideas before I delve in waist deep trying to fix this.

As always, thanks in advance for any help/advice.

I wrote a Kitplanes article on Wheel Pants and Gear Leg Fairings. It hasn't published, but if you want to read the draft, send me an e-mail (below).

The short answer is I didn't worry about the seam till finishing. When they were slathered with micro, I matched the seams with block sanding.

[Desert Rat]

Originally Posted by wirejock

I wrote a Kitplanes article on Wheel Pants and Gear Leg Fairings. It hasn't published, but if you want to read the draft, send me an e-mail (below).

The short answer is I didn't worry about the seam till finishing. When they were slathered with micro, I matched the seams with block sanding.
Attachment 34432

Hey Larry- If you're offering sneak peeks, I'd love to look at that draft. I'm planning to get these done before I hang the engine while it's still easy to get teh weight off wheels and everything level and that process is on my short list at this point.

Terry

genevashortts@gmail.com

[lr172]

Originally Posted by ge9a

T
I have the main wheel pant halves mated together (both left and ride side of the plane) and after working on them for quite a while, I think I have the seams mated pretty well. But now the front half of one of the wheel pants sits a little low relative to the back half, all the way around by maybe 1/32" to 3/64" at the worst spots. If you followed my explanation, what have people done to fix this? Sand the rear half to match the front? Seems like a lot to take off. Shim the front on top of the flange to raise the front half when screwed together?

Looking for ideas before I delve in waist deep trying to fix this.

As always, thanks in advance for any help/advice.

put packing tape on the seam area of the aft half and then reassemble. Apply micro or polyester filler (i.e. rage) around the seam area on the fwd half. Then attack with block and sandpaper until you get what you are looking for. Detach then clean up edge. You can also apply filler to front before assembly to avoid the tape hassles.

Larry