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Barry,
There
are a number of "gotchas" in this area, all centered around the fact that you're
working this before the lower cowl is fitted--and that is largely determined by
the cowl front/spinner alignment. If you haven't already done so, be sure the
nose gear retracts cleanly into the gear well, and is very close to
centered--1/4" off center is probably too much to accommodate the door
opening/closing. We had to move the nose gear pivot mounting pads slightly (and
install over-size bolts to accommodate).
You'll
probably need to add washers/a spacer between the gear door mounting rails and
the motor mount where they attach at the front. I'd insert the spacers needed to
keep the rails parallel, but would not drill/permanently attach the rails to the
motor mount during your current work. You can use small c-clamps to hold them
firmly in position while you're working. Reason is that you'll almost certainly
need to move them up or down slightly to align with the lower cowling AFTER you
get it fitted to the spinner aligned and fitted to the firewall. I just finished
this task and wound up making new spacers that I riveted to the rails and
drilled to match the motor mount holes.
The
spring-loaded door operating arm that pivots at the back of the motor mount has
Delrin blocks that control it's travel limits. Lots of flexibility to adjust
open and close limits with these blocks. Keep that in mind when you get
frustrated... Also, the position of the short operating rods between the gear
doors and this arm is very critical for clearance with all the moving parts.
Don't just mount the angle brackets to the gear doors using measurements in the
book. Try the fit/movement. Also, make the ball pivot as far inboard from the
hinge line as you can and still achieve the needed clearance. Reason is that
when the doors are closed, there is almost a direct line from the hinge line
through this operating arm--making the final closing a difficult to impossible
adjustment. I've seen a number of IV-P's with these short rods bent to provide
clearance. We managed to make ours work without bending, but at least twice
during the process I was tempted to just bend them and be done with
it...
Write
me with any questions you may have.
Good
Luck,
Bob Pastusek
I’m starting on the nose gear
doors for a IV-P. For the builders who have been down that road, any
important “issues” or “gotchas” or “wish-I’d-done-it-that-ways” that I should
be aware of in building the doors?
Barry Knotts
bknotts@earthlink.net
L-IV P, Conti-TSIO 550, 20%,
Toledo,
Ohio.
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