Having spent more hours than is good for anyones health up inside the tunnel
I am keen to finish up by doing something about:
a) mud-guarding (in the down position)
b) wheel streamlining.(in the up position)
They are probably mutually exclusive but I am sure the ingenious Europa
fraternity will have produced some solutions which they might care to share
with all.
My experience shows that if used on grass runways the wheel bay can get
pretty wet and filthy, but if your rudder cables and other key bits (i.e.trim
switch circuitry) are shielded, this has no serious consequences.
Unfortunately the buck doesn't stop there and it gets past the opening in the
bulkhead where the flap rod passes through, and produces a veritable pasture
in the area of the fuel tap. Any suitable gaiters known?, brushes ? Will a
curved fixed shield following the rectracted tyre profile do it, or will it
still all go through the flap rod aperture ?
Preventing dirt entry in the "down" position by doors, looks difficult due to
the need to keep a safe spacing from the wheel itself, plus ensuring they
are safely out of the way during retraction.
Streamlining the wheel in the up-position has come to the fore for me since
finding how little wear you need in various bushes and stop plates before the
gear, unknown to you will be an inch or two further down than it started. I
am sure someone will have put a curved something on the u/c arm, and mebbe
something similar can arranged behind the wheel, perhaps pulled up into
position by a link to the arm itself ? Or a "Mod 60" with an independent set
of biz-jet doors ?
Starting the bated breath generator.....
Graham G-EMIN
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