Door fairing for an aircraft landing gear leg
A door fairing for a retractable landing gear leg of an aircraft is disclosed having an outer member which covers a portion of a landing gear bay of the aircraft when the landing gear leg is retracted. An inner member of the door fairing is coupled to the outer member via a number of configurable couplings which allow adjustment of the position of the outer member with respect to the inner member. The inner member has mounting points for mounting the door fairing to the landing gear leg. Prior to fitting the door fairing at the aircraft, measured or derived dimensional parameters of the landing gear bay are used to adjust the configurable couplings such that the door fairing is preconfigured to fit the landing gear bay of the aircraft.
1 . A method of fitting a door fairing to a retractable landing gear leg of an aircraft, the door fairing being configured such that immediately before a step of fitting the door fairing to the retractable landing gear the door fairing has at least one adjustable dimension that are configurable to compensate for variations, from one aircraft to another, that arise as a result of dimensional tolerances which affect fitting of the door fairing with the aircraft when the retractable landing gear leg is retracted,
the method comprising:
prior to fitting the door fairing to the retractable landing gear leg of the aircraft, remotely configuring at least one dimension of the door fairing in dependence upon at least one dimensional parameter of the aircraft so that the door fairing is pre-configured to fit an orifice of the aircraft when the retractable landing gear leg is retracted;
transferring the door fairing to an attachment point of the aircraft; and then
fitting the door fairing to the retractable landing gear leg of the aircraft.
2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein the door fairing includes an outer member coupled to an inner member via a plurality of configurable couplings arranged to facilitate adjustment of the position of the outer member with respect to the inner member; wherein the step of configuring at least one dimension of the door fairing comprises adjusting one or more of the plurality of configurable couplings.
3 . A method of fitting a door fairing to a retractable landing gear leg of an aircraft, the door fairing being configured such that immediately before a step of fitting the door fairing to the retractable landing gear the door fairing has at least one adjustable dimension that are configurable to compensate for variations, from one aircraft to another, that arise as a result of dimensional tolerances which affect the fit of the door fairing with the aircraft when the retractable landing gear leg is retracted, wherein the door fairing includes an inner member,
the method comprising:
mounting the inner member on a jig prior to fitting the door fairing to the retractable landing gear leg of the aircraft, remotely configuring at least one dimension of the door fairing in dependence upon at least one dimensional parameter of the aircraft so that the door fairing is pre-configured to fit an orifice of the aircraft when the retractable landing gear leg is retracted;
transferring the door fairing to an attachment point of the aircraft; and then
fitting the door fairing to the retractable landing gear leg of the aircraft.
4 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein the step of configuring at least one dimension of the door fairing includes using an optical guidance device to determine a target position for the door fairing in dependence upon said at least one dimensional parameter.
5 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one dimensional parameter includes a measurement taken at the aircraft.
6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one dimensional parameter includes a parameter derived from statistical analysis of a series of dimensional parameters corresponding to a plurality of different aircraft.
7 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein said at least one dimensional parameter comprises at least four dimensional parameters.
8 . The method according to claim 1 , further comprising providing at least one mounting device for mounting an inner member to the retractable landing gear leg.
9 . The method according to claim 2 , further comprising providing a plurality of mounting arms for said at least one mounting device, and wherein the plurality of mounting arms is separate from the plurality of configurable couplings.
10 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of configurable couplings comprises at least five configurable couplings.
11 . The method according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of configurable couplings comprises:
at least one coupling which allows for adjustment of the position of the outer member relative to the inner member in a first direction which has a component perpendicular to the outer surface of the outer member;
at least one coupling which allows for adjustment of the position of the outer member relative to the inner member in a second direction which has a component perpendicular to the outer surface of the outer member; and
at least one coupling which allows for adjustment of the position of the outer member relative to the inner member in a third direction which is both non-parallel to the first direction and non-parallel to the second direction.
12 . The method according to claim 3 , wherein the step of configuring at least one dimension of the door fairing includes using at least one guide element attached to the jig, said at least one guide element being positioned in dependence upon said at least one dimensional parameter such that the door fairing is configured with reference to the guide element.