§ Nose Wheel, Retractable (Optional)
T-45 Goshawk Composite
31
N
N
o
o
s
s
e
e
W
W
h
h
e
e
e
e
l
l
,
,
R
R
e
e
t
t
r
r
a
a
c
c
t
t
a
a
b
b
l
l
e
e
(
(
O
O
p
p
t
t
i
i
o
o
n
n
a
a
l
l
)
)
Cut Opening in Fuselage for Nose
Wheel
Required Parts
o
o
o
o
Fuselage [F]
o
o
o
o
Nose Gear Retract Template
Required Tools and Adhesives
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Removable Tape
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Pen
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Sharp Hobby Knife, Hobby Saw or Small
Rotary Cutter
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Needle Files
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Epoxy or CA adhesive
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To locate the cutout for the retractable nose
gear you will be using the nose gear retract
template shown in the picture below.
Mark location of nose wheel cutout
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Place some removable tape on the fuselage
forward of the fixed gear location hole as shown
in the picture.
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Place the template ¼” in front of the hole and
centered on the fuselage, draw the outline of
the template on the tape.
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Using a sharp hobby knife, hobby saw or small
rotary cutting tool cut out the opening for the
retractable nose wheel as shown in the picture
below.
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Once the opening has been cut clean up any
edges and corners using needle files.
Nose wheel cutout complete
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After the nose wheel opening complete you will
see the front bulkhead is in the way of the
retract installation. Trim that bulkhead away
using a hobby saw. There are cut marks laser
etched into the bulkhead for the cut but you can
cut straight down from the edge of the
retractable nose gear cutout.
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When trimming the front bulkhead you may find
the bulkhead edges have delaminated slightly
from the fuselage. Re-attach these edges to the
fuselage using Epoxy or CA adhesive.