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| Nose fairing on top, main faring on bottom |
Previously checking tire pressure and filling with air was done through a round access hole that had a plastic cover on it. This cover was difficult to remove and would even break from time to time. So it was an item we wanted to change but just didn't get around to it.
So in the summer of 2011, I assigned the task to Amanda, who was one of my summer engineering interns. I asked her to research and design a latchable access panel. She did a great job in researching access panels and various options. She drew up some options on the computer, and after a design review we actually built up a version for both the nose and main wheel fairings, that we installed and flew on an experimental airplane.
The feedback from the mechanics and pilots that we had look at the design was great, and we got a good list of changes to make on the next version.
Unfortunately, she had to return to school in the fall, and the project languished a little bit until earlier in 2012, when we were able to pick up where she left off, finish the design, build another set of prototype wheel fairings for flight test. Once that was complete, we were able to coordinate the tooling changes and start delivering this great new feature on the 2013 G5 airplanes.
So what started as a summer intern project, ended up being a great and well received new feature on the airplane. So thanks Amanda.
