Wing Strut Fittings

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tonyp51
Posts: 4
Joined: Sun Mar 05, 2017 8:36 pm
Location: Mojave CA

Wing Strut Fittings

Post by tonyp51 »

I have the one piece gear. Everything is bolted on. The 3/32" ply skin is not attached yet.The welded wing strut fittings are finished and built per plans. My question is: What gets welded? Does the wing strut fittings get welded to the outside landing gear fittings? Do I have to wait until after the Ply skin is permanently attached? It looks like if i weld on the wing strut fitting, I will not be able to remove the inside and outside landing gear fittings. True? I also incorporated the belly strap. When does this get welded to the inside landing gear fittings {left & right}? And one more. On the inside landing gear fitting. What do I do with the cut out "TAB" Do I bend it to meet the wing strut fitting that's bent to attach the landing gear cables? Or do I cut them off beacuse they are not needed?

Tony
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: Wing Strut Fittings

Post by taildrags »

Tony;

Your references to inside and outside landing gear fittings sound like you've got the wooden gear leg, solid-axle gear arrangement as shown in the 1932 Flying & Glider Manual. My airplane doesn't have that landing gear so I can't be of much help other than what I see on the details and callouts. First of all, the only weld I see on those fitting details is where the wing strut fitting sticks through a slot that's cut in the outside landing gear fitting and then welded in place. All other connections are bolted, from what I see on those details. The metal fittings appear to be bolted through both the plywood skins and the framing, so the skins would need to be permanently glued in place before the fittings are mounted. From what I can tell, the metal fittings should be able to be unbolted and removed later since they sort of nest together as you assemble them, and then capture the wooden airframe with the bolts that hold everything together.

The detail in the 1932 F&GM does not show a belly strap under the airplane between the gear legs, but it does show a 1/2" steel strip the full width of the inside of the fuselage between the attach fittings, captured under the heads of the bolts that attach the inside landing gear fittings and wing strut fittings to the fuselage. The "tab" that you ask about on the inside landing gear fitting has a hole in it that that bolt passes through, along with one of the holes in the wing strut fitting, so don't cut that part off. The tab transfers landing loads that tend to spread the gear apart to the airframe and to the steel strip via the bolts.

The 1933 Orrin Hoopman plans, Drawing No. 3 "Sectional View of Left Front Fitting", show a very different setup for the split-axle gear, with a 2" wide steel strap passing under the belly of the airplane, bolting up through a 2" wide by 1" thick ash crosspiece with AN3 bolts. This is the arrangement that my airplane has, and there is more welding involved on the gear and strut attach fittings than in the earlier arrangement.
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taildrags
Posts: 637
Joined: Tue Mar 07, 2017 10:39 pm

Re: Wing Strut Fittings

Post by taildrags »

Tony; while looking for something else, I found just what you're looking for... the photos of Dan Loegering's landing gear fittings and assembly on Westcoastpiet.com . Go to that site, scroll down the list in the 'Pictures' page, and you should have some excellent guidance on assembling your landing gear!
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