Brief Description: Installing the Main Wheels/ brakes etc.
Big day! The big main wheels are on. The previous builder had the gear set up for the recommended Cleveland axles and wheels. This left a little ledge of glass on the wheel side of the gear leg creating an uneven surface to mount the axle to. I whipped up some flox and made a bed on either side of the legs and press the axle onto it. Prior to installing the gear I prepped the metal backplate and wheel pant braket with high temp engine enamel primer for protection from corrosion. It's a rattle can so we'll see how it hold up. I plan on flying without wheel pants for the first 20 hours or until I make good consistant landings for a while. Anyways, Everything went on smoothly however, Cleaning the wheels and bearings to that of a Hospital ER standard takes time. I packed the bearings with #5 Grease and assembled the wheels onto the now installed axles. I also let most of the air out of the tires and checked the wheel bolts for accurate torque of 54 inch lbs, then re-inflated the tires to 55lbs psi. She now stands on all 3 legs and I'm feeling like there is an airplane in my garage :)
Note: The plans say that the longerons should be sitting a couple of degrees "up" from level when the gear is fully extended, however I found that I am negative about 1 degree. I am pretty sure that after the firewall gets 240lbs of love added to it, the back end should ride lower which will increase me angle of attack. Crossing my fingers at this point ;)
