February 6, 2005

Finally, some warmer weather! Anyways, first, a bit of catch up. Here are some shots of the canopy frame in position after relocating the rails and doing all the bending last time I was here.

Here’s the left side.

And the right….

And a centred shot….

Here’s the rear rail. These are some small screws holding this puppy down!

The canopy frame in it’s rearmost position (approximately!)

Next item was putting together the main gear. I kind of pre-assembled the left gear leg last time I was here, but decided to get some stainless steel wheelpant fairings from Attaway Air. I’d heard of lot’s of people having problems with Van’s wheelpant brackets cracking, mainly through flying without the fairings attached. Well, I wasn’t sure whether or not I’d need them, but I went ahead with it anyway. After the first trial fit of the left leg and it’s associated components, I don’t want to be messing to much with these things!

The stainless brackets are exactly the same as the Van’s aluminium ones, so there wasn’t any problems with fit. They look pretty good, won’t corrode, and shouldn’t crack either. Sure, they’re a little heavier than aluminium, but it’s a small price to pay.

Here’s the lower left leg, mostly assembled. Here, I’m messing with the cotter pin hole. I got the position, per Van’s instructions, marked where the nut was positioned, then used the nut as a drill guide. Worked pretty well.