Attach tabs

[John DiStefano]

I just finished fabricating my jig for the attach tabs. And as some of you have experienced, a portion of the leading edge (near where the bulge was) protrudes approximately .15" past the fwd face of parts D and E of the jig. I did sand down the maximum 1/8" off the bulge BTW.

 

Checked the FAQ... it says in part ..."If necessary, adjust the width of your jig box". That does not seem like a good idea.

 

Checked the archives, for anything with the word "strut" or "landing gear".. there was some discussion of trimming the strut flush with D and E. However there did not seem to be a consensus regarding if it is OK to sand thru the torsion layups..

 

So, anymore thoughts of sand thru the torsion layups?

 

In my case the TE of the strut is fine.. The LE at the max protrudes .15" tapering down to flush..

Would this be an acceptable alternative?

Would it be OK to just leave the strut bulge the way it is on the LE? So that as the tab layups on the FWD face overlap the LE, they somewhat continue aft that .15" (max) and then are flush with most of the FWD face of parts D and E. Looking at M-9, it does not look like this bulge will interfere with getting this assembly into position since it(the bulge) is below MG-2. On M-9, there looks like approx .5" clearance between the tab and the FWD LGBH and .25" between the tab and MG-2.

 

 

Has anyone tried this approach? All thoughts are welcomed.

 

Thanks

 

JD

[Wayne Hicks]

JD:

 

It is okay to widen the jig box by 0.15 inches. As shown in Chapter 9, page 6, Figure 33, and shown more clearly in the full size in the M-drawings, the MKMGA (the steel tube) is really quite a bit wider than the tabs. There is enough room there to accommodate the extra 0.15 inch width in the jig box provided you do a fairly good job of compressing the tab layups.

 

I would not under any circumstance grind through the torsional layups.

 

If you're uncomfortable with widening the jig box, then I'd straddle the jig box and leave 0.075 on the front edge and 0.075 at the aft edge. There are going to 90 plies added there. A slight curving of the first few plies from the landing gear onto the jig box will not matter as long as the plies aren't chinked.

 

It's been 6 years ago for me, but I seem to recall just widening the box a bit. I may have also added a small bit of foam to keep the first few plies from chinking.

[John DiStefano]

thanks for the reply...I will post a picture when done