My aircraft is now flying - total of 31 hours so far. I’ve noticed that the hinge pins for my gear leg fairings tend to move during flight. So far no damage. However, I’m concerned that one of the pins could back completely out during flight. I know that I can just drill a couple of holes and safety wire all 4 of these hinge pins. However, I’m wondering if anyone else has developed a better solution to retain the hinge pins during flight.
I ended up adding a small retaining flange on the bottom edge of the fuselage and a nutplate at the very top of the fairing. This keeps the fairing in place and stopped my pins from migrating.
Bill,
I’m having phase 1 deja-vu all over again. Check out this video:
Edit: I made that video to help someone on the old forum who couldn’t get his hinge pins in. If the content is boring, skip ahead to 0:55 for the locking feature I made. My pins were also migrating out. This is a sure fix. The thick piece of aluminum is about the same thickness of the hinge pins. The thin piece is a chunk of .032 scrap. The thick piece keeps the pins from migrating in, and the thin piece keeps the pins from rotating down and around the thick piece.
Edit 2: I found my pics on the old forum via the Wayback machine.
A much better solution!
How about some nice photo’s?? ![]()
Bryan,
Very clever - thanks. I believe that is exactly what I will do.
Bill
N67WX
Awesome! I’m going to copy this for the main gear on my nosewheel aircraft. I’ve been waiting to pull the seat to drill the hole in the floor but doing it with two pins will make it so much easier.
AH,yes! great idea! I shal get these made and installed post haste! Thanks again for a great solution!
Funny, my 4 never move
The polished fuselage helped me understand how it goes together. ![]()
That’s a subtle way to brag about your landings! Ours have gotten better but I had a lot of shimmy in the beginning. I had to lengthen a couple of pins.
Another factor of our rough use:
Hi Bryan,
I do operate on asphalt and i really didn’t consider the vibration from grass operations. I do remember the struggle to even try putting in the single pin like the plans show… until i was informed of cutting the pins in half. I am very pleased with my nose wheel configuration. Not sure my landings are that smooth…lol.
Besides your humility regarding your excellent landings, I bet the shorter MLG legs on the trike spring around less.
Yes they probably do spring less
I rode the Struggle Bus for a few hours this weekend trying to get the pins in from inside per the plans before I gave up and modified the fairings to take two pins per Bryan and others.
Realize that most of my brilliance is stealing the good ideas of other builders. Pins in from the middle is one of those.
Even if the idea isn’t totally original, your effort to document some of the modifications is and it’s really appreciated, Bryan!
Got a question:
With the through the floor hinge pin - Does this serve any purpose other than an access point ie is it stabilizing the leg fairing?? ![]()
I’m planning to use my (existing) hole in the floor, as well as the (existing) hole in the wheel pant to stabilize the fairing. The fairings seem to move a fair bit in use, and I don’t want to rely on the hole in the fiberglass wheel pant as the sole locus of stability.
Mine were always from the center and I use the 2 holes, wheel pant and floor, to keep the gear leg fairings located. Just be sure to beef up the floor like in the post I linked. Mine actually stick up through the floor a lot, as they can escape otherwise. I remade them for extra length after that happened. The pin got bent right under the floor and that made it hard to get them out.


