Work on Myrsky's landing gear wheel hub cover is continued

Suomeksi

The Tuesday club team has continued preparing the cover which is fastened on the wheel hub of the starboard wing landing gear on the VL Myrsky II (MY-14). At the moment the metal support is being made for the inner edge of the cover. The support circles the edge of the cover, and it is made of 15 mm thick square steel tube. It is fastened at a 10 mm distance from the edge of the cover.

The square tube is a supporting frame for the cover, cut from aluminium plate, and it also forms a fastening surface for the stiffeners which are fastened on the inner side of the cover. The stiffener plates, cut from aluminium plate, are riveted on the cover so that the square tube is between the cover and the stiffener plate. The stiffener plates are waiting to be assembled. The stiffeners on the test wing’s wheel hub have already been riveted. The wheel hub cover of the test wing has been used as a model when the actual covers for the landing gear are made.

The upper edge of the wheel hub cover is curved, and the square tube had to be modified in a mangling machine to make it match the cover shape. The shape was modified step by step. When the square tube began to curve, its shape was compared to the curved edge of the cover and mangled again. When the desired curved shape had been reached, the square tube was cut into pieces which will be fastened on the cover’s upper edge.

The lower edge of the wheel hub cover is not curved but angular. A piece of the square tube was cut for the cover’s lower edge. To modify the square tube into an angular piece, a cleft was sawed at the point where the cover edge has its steepest angle. Several clefts were made where the slighter angle is. The tube was bent, using the clefts, to meet the shape of the cover’s lower edge.

The following phase was to mark with tape the line of the corner joint, where the curved square tube on the upper edge of the cover meets the angular square tube of the lower edge. The tube ends were cut slanted according to the marked line. The slanted tube ends were placed against each other and fastened on the cover plate with clamps. At first the tube ends will be lightly welded together so that the whole tube frame can be moved from the aluminium cover plate for the actual welding work. When this has been done, the square tube forms a complete supporting frame along the edge of the wheel hub cover.

Photos: Lassi Karivalo

Translation: Erja Reinikainen.