Today I started off early by getting my FAA Class III flight physical completed… another 2-year ticket to fly.
I then remounted the wheel pants using clecos in the alignment/hardware holes.
![](https://www.longezpush.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_20200812_191937805-1024x754.jpg)
Thankfully everything went back together fairly smoothly. I would say that the skirt (wheel pant flange) on the gear seems to be pulling the aft end of each pant up about 1/8″, but beyond some minor requirements for trimming the interfaces, all looks pretty good!
![](https://www.longezpush.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_20200812_191801853-1024x926.jpg)
Although not exact or scientific, after a bit of fanagaling I ran a string from the front center point to the aft center point… I could manipulate the string up or down, but it did naturally rest on the midpoint centerline when I initially pulled the string tight. Close enough for me . . .
![](https://www.longezpush.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_4501-1024x629.jpg)
I then spent a good bit of time re-spacing and re-drilling the screw/CAMLOC positions. The net result is the addition of one screw/CAMLOC on each side.
![](https://www.longezpush.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_4504-1024x700.jpg)
Note the X’s on the outboard (2x above) and inboard (1x below) where the old attach points were located.
![](https://www.longezpush.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_4505-1024x710.jpg)
There are some minor fit and finish issues that I need to deal with [note gap at junction] and I’ll dial those in as I finalize the wheel pants install.
![](https://www.longezpush.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_4502-1024x768.jpg)
Here’s a shot of the fuselage –with the wheel pants installed– in its current state. Albeit its current state is a bit of mess, with quite a bit of duct tape pieces and residue adhered semi-permanently to the surfaces.
I’ll note I’ve been closing out each evening this week with a good 45-minute or so cleaning session to get all the tape residue removed. In addition, each night I’ve been working 1-2 bondo spots still remaining on the bottom aft corner of the CS spar from when I mounted the wings to the spar and drilled out the wing mounting bolts…. yes, the sins of the past! The good news is I’m close to having a clean slate (pun intended) on the external fuselage. Next will come some much needed internal fuselage cleanup.
![](https://www.longezpush.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/IMG_20200812_191856004-1024x616.jpg)
The next step will be finalizing the actual wheel pant hardware install.