Bending gear leg fairings

Discussion for builders, pilots, owners, and those interested in building or owning a Sonex.

Re: Bending gear leg fairings

Postby kmacht » Tue Sep 12, 2023 7:42 am

You could always take the temper out of the aluminum to make it easier to bend. Scribble sharpie marks all over one side of the fairing and then slowly and gently heat the other side with a propane torch until the sharpie marks disappear. Let it cool and the 6061 will now be much more flexible and easier to bend. It worked great for me on the gear leg fairings and the tail intersection fairings. Just do not do this on anything related to the actual structure of the airplane and throw away any scrap you heated so it doesn’t get accidentally used somewhere else in the build.

Keith
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Re: Bending gear leg fairings

Postby DCASonex » Tue Sep 12, 2023 10:26 am

Or make the bend first in a slightly over sized sheet of aluminum, then trim to size with the bend as your reference line.

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