Silangit Feed 1: Re: [Titanaircraft] Solved! - Drilling replacment gear legs on 2S & 2SS

Monday, July 6, 2009

Re: [Titanaircraft] Solved! - Drilling replacment gear legs on 2S & 2SS

Hugh,

That's a good idea too. It's just what came to mind with what I had at arm's reach, and was very quick. No glue too.

--Kimberly

----- Original Message -----
From: Hugh Sontag
To: Titanaircraft@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Monday, July 06, 2009 3:21 PM
Subject: Re: [Titanaircraft] Solved! - Drilling replacment gear legs on 2S & 2SS

My solution was to drill a 3/16" hole in a 3/4"-thick block of wood,
put the drill through the block of wood and the existing holes, and
hot-glue the block in place.

Remove the drill, insert the gear leg, drill the hole.

Knock the block of wood off (it stays when you need it, but a sharp
blow will dislodge it) and repeat for the next hole.

Hugh Sontag

>Hello All,
>
>Many of you may have seen the 'C' channel drilling jig like Chuck
>Riley's design for drilling replacement gear legs using existing
>gear truss holes. However, on the 2S and 2SS, there is the aileron
>torque rod bracket in the way. We happened to be replacing our gear
>legs today to upgrade the axles on our 2S, and had to come up with a
>way to drill the fiberglass legs and preserve the original holes in
>the gear leg truss. We built an aluminum 'C'-channel jig similar to
>Chuck's with a steel sleeve for the drill to ride in and it has a
>replaceable steel pin guide in the end (I could machine it pretty
>and stylish, but it takes more time that I just don't have). You
>might ask why the radius is so large. That's to allow for holes that
>are not centered exactly in the truss.
>
>The 'C' jig worked flawlessly on the three out of four holes where
>it could fit around the truss, but it was a problem when we got to
>the one at the bracket for the aileron torque rod. The solution was
>so simple, I had to laugh when it worked perfectly. We used a
>magnetic base for a dial indicator, but tossed the indicator for a
>15/64" combination ignition wrench (a piece of aluminum with a hole
>works fine). We slid the 3/16" x 6" drill bit in the hole without
>the gear leg and set the articulated arm to hold the wrench centered
>around the bit. There had to be some play between the drill and
>wrench so we could see if there was any movement off center without
>bumping the wrench. We then pulled the bit, mounted it in the drill,
>inserted the gear leg and pushed in one bolt through the upper hole
>we already drilled, then carefully inserted the drill bit through
>the wrench and drilled the hole free hand while keeping the drill
>centered through the wrench. When the drill exited out the back, it
>hit nothing but air. If you are interested, take a look on the last
>page in the 'Panos' folder.
>
>--Kimberly
>
>P.S. --
>Oh yeah, you might notice a photo of our new rear seat design for
>the 2S we just finished yesterday with extra leg support and three
>different density one-inch thick layers of cushion and memory foam,
>and stitched padding totaling 3-1/2". It is comfy and cushy! The
>inside edges for the control stick are angled to clear the control
>throws. We obviously haven't flown it yet, but it sure feels good
>sitting on it in the plane. The back now zippers-off to swich
>between the factory seat frame and cushion, and the new one for
>quick swaps. Boy! I don't ever want to have to do that again.
>
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