On the Gear - Summer 1964

Dennis: The assembled fuselage was nice but a bit of a pain to keep moving around.  It took 2 people to lift it and move it around.  The landing gear was clearly needed.  We didn't know how to weld so help was needed.  A fellow who was a welder at Buick tried to weld them but it was quickly apparent he did not know how to weld this stuff.  I think Ray Shelby finally welded the the parts for us.  It involved welding some thick walled tubing onto some .095" steel fittings.  The parts came out fine and after painting were bolted to the gear and the fuselage.  Because we bought surplus bolts we used 3/8" bolts instead of 5/16".  It doesn't seem like a big difference but there are a lot of them and a few pounds of weight was added.

Once the lower fittings were bolted to the gear legs they could be drilled for the axle.  A hole saw was used.  It worked fine.  You just have to go slow and keep a firm grip on the gear legs.  Dad's brother Bruce is just visible in the picture on the left.  He must have been working or on his way home since he's wearing a suit and some fancy socks.  Bruce was a detective.  The other person behind the ShopSmith is Al McArthur.  He started building a Fly Baby after this but his wife eventually ended the project.  I think he cut it up and hauled it to the dump.

Ready for the axle.

Dad needed to make sure the the gear was on correctly.

The axle is welded to the plates on the gear legs and wire braced for a very rigid gear.  We originally used some 6.00x6 wheels and tires because we got them cheap.  After a couple hard landings it was decided to change to the recommended 8.00x4 wheels and tires.  The difference in shock absorption is worth the cost, they have gotten expensive.

OK, maybe we don't really need a picture of the bottom of the fuselage, but it was fun to do. Little brother Donald, Dad, and Wally. I think Diane is in the shadow to the right but I can't adjust the picture enough to make out who it is.

Really starting to look like an airplane.  You really get a sense for how small our house was with the plane in front of it.  It never seemed small, just home, a good home.