I set up the main landing gear today. First off was to determine whether the gear was parallel. I attached the gear legs to the mounts with the proper bolts and washers in place. I then used a metal yard stick braced against the brake flange on each gear leg to draw a line on the concrete. Once both lines were drawn, I measured the distance between the lines at the extents of each line. In effect, these two measurements tell me whether the axles are parallel or have a toe in or toe out. The first measurements told me the gear had a toe out situation. To correct this situation I needed to adjust the rod ends screwed into the gear legs at the mounts. After several adjustments I was able to equal out the measurements meaning the axles are parallel.
The next measurement is taken from the tail of the aircraft center line to the same point on each axle. This measurement tells whether the gear is square to the fuselage. Again, this is adjusted using the rod ends screwed into the gear legs. Eventually, I was able to get each of the measurements to be equal or as close as possible without better measuring equipment.
Tomorrow I'll tighten up all the bolts and mount the shocks.
