Fuselage On The Gear

Building buddy Craig had access to an engine hoist which we picked up this morning. The right tool for the job. With it and using tie down straps in 2 places on the engine mount we safely got the fuselage lifted to the point that the gear legs could slip into their sockets. From there it was simply a matter of securing them in place with a drift pin, reaming the single bolt hole to .375 and bolting them in. It all went pretty quick and trouble free. Close tolerance hardware is used throughout the landing gear. Once the gear legs were on I got the axles and brake/wheel pant bracketry in place and the tires temporarily on. It's very satisfying seeing the fuselage on its gear and off the stand it's been on for 2 years. The fuselage suddenly got much taller and longer. The next task will be brake lines and adjusting axle toe-in/out. Craig created a tool on CAD that should make the process easier than the plans technique.