Dear subscribers,
Please find attached pictures of my home made gear box. I replaced the four corner brackets with a plate with cut outs. I used 2024-1 Aluminum for the gear box with the T3 heat treat procedure after bending the parts and 2024 T3 Aluminum for the top. I am going to put covers with a flat rubber seal on top of the cut outs and use them as access panels.
I got two questions: I got flexible plastic break lines into my gear leg. I thought this would be ok if I cover them with a clear plastic hose for protection (I used this also around my rudder pedals) – On pictures of newer airplanes I saw that a hard20pipe is now used to go into the gear leg – I this necessary?
Second question: the area where the wing bolts onto the gearbox. I my airplane they used a cover that was siliconed to the gearbox, the side wall and the floor of the cabin to keep the cabin pressure inside. This gets pretty messy after you remove it the second time. I was thinking to glass that cover in place and cut a removable access panel in there – are you aware of any other solutions to get access to the wing bolts without creating all this silicone mess.
Soon I will have some pictures of my reworked door – thanks for all the help and advice I got on this.
Ralf Bronnenmeier
1070 Navajo Drive
Bluffton, OH 45817
Phone: (419) 369 12 33
Fax: (419) 369 33 32