Fit the landing gear
Perform steps R1 through R12 only if installing
retractable landing gear. If installing fixed gear,
skip to step F13.
Refer to this photo for the following three steps.
❏ ❏
R1. Test fit the 1/4" plywood
forward
and
aft
landing gear rails
in the slots in ribs W-4 and W-5.
If necessary, make adjustments to the notches or
remove glue bumps so the rails fit well.
❏ ❏
R2. Mount a 3-3/4" wheel to your landing gear.
This model was designed to use CJM (Century Jet
Retracts) Focke-Wulf landing gear with Williams
Bros.
#143 3-3/4" Smooth Contour Wheels
(WBRQ1143). These wheels have a narrow cross-
section allowing the gear to fully lock in the retracted
position. “Fatter” wheels will contact the top wing
sheeting before the gear is fully retracted. Enlarge
the hole in the wheels for the landing gear axle with
a #12 drill bit.
❏ ❏
R3. Temporarily remove the partially die-cut
section of ribs W-3 & W-4 to accommodate the
landing gear and the wheel for test fitting. Place the
landing gear on the rails where shown on the plan
(the edge of the aluminum body is 13/32" from the
1/16" ply rib doubler).
❏ ❏
R4. Extend the landing gear. Adjust the strut so you
can barely detect any tow-in the wheel—about one-
degree of tow-in is desirable to aid ground handling.
❏ ❏
R5. Retract the gear into the wing. Make sure
the rails are correctly installed and are at the correct
angle. There must be clearance between the wheel
and the top wing sheeting when the gear is in the
retracted position and fully locked. If this is your
second time through and you’re on the left wing
panel, make sure that the left landing gear is
mounted at the same angle as the right landing gear.
❏ ❏
R6. Once you have achieved a good fit of the
wheels in the wing, Use 30-minute epoxy to glue the
rails into position. Do not build up large fillets of glue
at this time.
❏ ❏
R7. After the epoxy on the rails has fully
hardened, reposition the gear on the rails as
described earlier. Mark the location of the mounting
holes, then drill 3/32" holes in the rails for #6 x 1/2"
screws (not included).
❏ ❏
R8. Test fit, then use 30-minute epoxy to glue
the die-cut 1/8" plywood
forward
and
aft landing
gear webs
into position. When you position the
webs, be certain they are not pushing up against the
inside of the top wing sheeting, thereby making a
bump in the top of the wing. Note that the forward
web should not extend below the forward rail.
Otherwise, it will interfere with part of the retract.
❏ ❏
R9. Test mount the landing gear to the rails with
#6 x 1/2" screws. Retract and extend the gear to
make sure the wheel does not contact the top
sheeting and that the gear is able to fully lock in the
retracted position. Make certain you will be able to
route the air lines after the bottom sheeting is glued
into position. Remove the landing gear.
❏ ❏
R10. Use epoxy thinned with alcohol or
finishing resin to apply light-weight glass cloth to the
inside of the top wing sheeting between ribs W-1
through W-4. This will strengthen the exposed
sheeting inside the wing and will seal the wood grain
for painting later on.
❏ ❏
R11. Replace the section of rib W-2 you
temporarily removed for retracting the gear. Just tack
glue it into place. It will be removed after the bottom
of the wing is sheeted, but will support the sheeting
in the meantime.
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