Landing gear door sealing?

[Bastoune]

What are the do's and don'ts when sealing the landing gear doors? (besides not sealing everything shut of course!)

I am planning to seal the hinge side of each gear door with some TESA fabric tape. This seems like the no brainer. After that, i am less sure. Can the center gap (between the doors when they are closed) be also sealed with a pre curved mylar (i.e. Aileron type mylar)? My left door always closes first so the mylar would be applied to the right door. How about the front and rear gaps between the fuselage and the doors?
Is this an overkill? Thanks!

[Bob Kuykendall]

On Mar 10, 5:38*pm, Bastoune > wrote:
> What are the do's and don'ts when sealing the landing gear doors? (besides > not sealing everything shut of course!)

In general, the more constructive approach is not to seal the gear
doors, but rather to seal the gear well off from the fuselage. Plug
all of the holes, and install flexible boots where push-pull tubes go
into the well.

When the gear well is properly sealed, there will be little if any
flow in and out from the gear doors, and no need to seal the doors
themselves.

Thanks, Bob K.

[Bastoune]

Thanks Bob! That seems to be a pretty good way to work around the door sealing problem! As a side question, what type of material is used for those sealing boots?
Thanks, Bastoune

[Ron Clark[_2_]]

On Mar 11, 9:13*am, Bastoune > wrote:
> Thanks Bob! That seems to be a pretty good way to work around the door sealing problem! As a side question, what type of material is used for those sealing boots?
> Thanks, Bastoune

Bastoune,

I have heard about people using plastic shower curtain material. Just
make sure the adhesive you use will not melt the seal material. ( Do a
test coupon first).

RC

[Bob Kuykendall]

On Mar 11, 9:13*am, Bastoune > wrote:

> Thanks Bob! That seems to be a pretty good way to work around
> the door sealing problem! As a side question, what type of material
> is used for those sealing boots?

There are many different approaches. Sometimes I use ripstop nylon
sewn into a cone. Sometimes the finger of a glove can be used.
Sometimes you can make a boot out of a length of wire-reinforced
flexible ducting such as SCAT tubing or vacuum cleaner hose. Whatever
you use, you must make sure that it cannot jam or impede the control
in any way.

Thanks, Bob K.

[Bastoune]

Thanks for these ideas. What about neoprene sheets in 0.5 or 1mm thick?

[Bob Kuykendall]

On Mar 12, 7:20*am, Bastoune > wrote:
> Thanks for these ideas. What about neoprene sheets in 0.5 or 1mm thick?

That sounds a bit too thick to bend easily.

[Rick Walters[_2_]]

On Mar 12, 7:20*am, Bastoune > wrote:
> Thanks for these ideas. What about neoprene sheets in 0.5 or 1mm thick?

If it is a Shempp Hirth ship, I use a large "felt" washer around the
gear retract drive shaft. I cut the washer out of jute used by
upholsterers. It is about 1cm thick. I cut it so it slips over
( rather than dismantling the gear mechanism) and contact cement it to
the gear housing fiberglass. Other small holes are covered with cloth
Tessa tape and renewed each annual. If you have a CG hook, that will
be noisy as well, so seal it up at the same time. I don't like to use
silicone in case an epoxy/glass repair is ever needed.

Rick Walters