# Undercarriage Fairing Hinge Rod

**URL:** <https://sonexpilots.org/t/undercarriage-fairing-hinge-rod/5154>\
**Category:** Legacy Sonex\
**Created:** [October 31, 2025, 5:56am UTC](https://sonexpilots.org/t/undercarriage-fairing-hinge-rod/5154 "2025-10-31T05:56:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![SkippyDiesel](https://sonexpilots.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@SkippyDiesel](https://sonexpilots.org/u/SkippyDiesel)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 5:56am UTC](https://sonexpilots.org/t/undercarriage-fairing-hinge-rod/5154/1 "2025-10-31T05:56:27Z")

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As you will all know, the piano hing rod, for the trailing edge of each undercarriage leg fairing, passes through the cockpit floor.

My aircraft has only 183 hrs and the hole in the floor has significantly elongated.

This must be from movement - flexing of the undercarriage leg?

Does anyone have a proven technique for preventing this getting any worse?😈

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**Author:** ![Bryan\_Cotton](https://sonexpilots.org/user_avatar/sonexpilots.org/bryan_cotton/32/760_2.png) [@Bryan\_Cotton](https://sonexpilots.org/u/Bryan_Cotton)\
**Post date:** [October 31, 2025, 1:41pm UTC](https://sonexpilots.org/t/undercarriage-fairing-hinge-rod/5154/2 "2025-10-31T13:41:17Z")

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> [@Landing gear fairing pin - floor wear](https://sonexpilots.org/t/landing-gear-fairing-pin-floor-wear/1519):
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> Landing gear fairing pin - floor wear Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2023 9:44 pm by Bryan Cotton My landing gear fairings have two pins, that insert from the middle. One goes down into the wheelpant, and the other goes up through the floor. The problem is the 0.032" floor did not stand up well to the steel hinge pin. [[ugly floor hole.jpg]](https://web.archive.org/web/20240821062928/https://sonexbuilders.net/download/file.php?id=4537&mode=view) I took a step drill to it until it was just a hole - maybe close to 3/8" before it was cleaned up. Then I used my holesaw collection to make a 0.063" 7075-T6 aluminu…

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**Author:** ![SkippyDiesel](https://sonexpilots.org/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@SkippyDiesel](https://sonexpilots.org/u/SkippyDiesel)\
**Post date:** [November 1, 2025, 4:40am UTC](https://sonexpilots.org/t/undercarriage-fairing-hinge-rod/5154/3 "2025-11-01T04:40:14Z")

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Thanks for that Bryan. I think I will try the rivet fix first, as described by Graeme Smith, with the option to go for your SS washer fix if this fails.😈