REFLECTOR: main gear pivot bolts

Joe Ramsey yesmarj at gmail.com
Fri Feb 9 23:54:36 CST 2007


Dave same here XL-5 RG.  I like the sound of the mods.  If you do pictures
could I get a set.

yesmarj at gmail.com

Joe

On 2/9/07, Hal Smith <h.smith61 at verizon.net> wrote:
>
> Dave,  Could you send me some pictures?  I am building an XLRG and have
> not
> installed the landing gear yet.  Probably good to beef up when installing
> rather than later.
>
> Hal Smith
> 5305 169th Pl SW
> Lynnwood, Washington 98037
>
> Thanks,
> Hal
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <davedent at comcast.net>
> To: "Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list" <reflector at tvbf.org>
> Sent: Friday, February 09, 2007 11:51 AM
> Subject: Re: REFLECTOR: main gear pivot bolts
>
>
> > FYI
> > I have gone through at least three of the 5/8" bolts on my right gear of
> > my XL/RG.  The first one was a grade five and the last two wear grade
> > eights.  They all got bent.  So I have spent a lot of time trying to
> find
> > out why.
> >
> > Finally I found out that the moment on the pivot point was way to long.
> So
> > I built and added a plate to the fwd main gear bulkhead.  Much like the
> > one on the nose gear pivot but a 3X4" plate with inbeded bushings.  This
> > plate is sandwiched on the  bulkhead with four #10 bolts and flox to
> even
> > off the surfaces.  If anyone wants pictures, send me you address and
> I'll
> > send it. I can't put them in these emails.  I tried the picture of the
> new
> > Vesta prop and it wouldn't go through. By the way the prop weighs in at
> > 67lb with spinner.
> >
> > I also made new captivators out of eight plys of carbon and added a web
> to
> > the fwd side of the captivator to beef up the fwd torsional loading that
> > is applied on each landing.
> >
> > I found out that I had a tire that had got out of balance and caused the
> > gear to vibrate so much that it bent the bolt and wiped out the fwd main
> > gear bulkhead bushing. Actually tore the bushing out of the bulkhead.
> It's
> > just floxed in remember. This is the gear I completely covered with all
> > cabon instead of the uni E-glass. It ended up way to stiff. So doing
> > transferred all the loads to the bolt and pivot points. Lesson learned
> > here as well.
> >
> > The next one got taken out because the brake line to that gear had a
> > slight kink in it, because of being removed and not noticing it.  This
> > caused the brake not to release fast enough causing the gear to take a
> > beating again.  So doing bending the bolt again.  On just one landing it
> > took out the brake pads and the bolt.  So make sure the brake lines,
> > NylaFlow type, are in so that no kinks can happen.  Something simple
> like
> > that can get you, BAD.
> >
> > Related to the bending of the bolts, if you haven't checked lately, I
> > would do a rotational check on your bolts.  If you can't rotate them by
> > taking a 15/16th wrench and rotating it at the head of it, it is
> bent.  If
> > it is bent just a little and I mean just a little it can cause the whole
> > alignment to be off.  So doing can prevent proper travel and failure to
> > have it come up in the well right and hang up in the well.  Believe me,
> it
> > don't take much. I have seen some wells that if you just change a tire,
> it
> > wouldn't fit up in the well.  Now add this miss alignment to it and you
> > can see what can happen.
> >
> > One one occasion on the way home from OSH, last summer, it got bent just
> > enough so the gear linkage went up about one inch higher, it don't take
> > much remember. During the next retract it caught on the overhead vent
> > drain line and prevented the gear from going all the way into the lock
> > position. The drain line actually caught in the notch in the overcenter
> > link. This allowed the gear to become unlocked and pulled the one gear
> > back up into the well, so doing the plane came to a stop with two legs
> > down and one leg up.  A real bad day.
> >
> > This bent bolt was caused by a hard landing the flight before this onto
> an
> > major down hill short runway by my partner.  No fault of his, just not
> > prepared for such a runway.  The bolt should have been able to take it.
> > This was the grade five bolt also. I'm sure if it had been the grade
> eight
> > it would torn out the fwd bulkhead bushing as well.  It is only floxed
> in
> > as you know and with that long moment arm you can see what it could do.
> > That's why I did the extra beefing up in that area. By adding the plates
> > and shear web on the captivator.
> >
> > I know I have gone on a long time on this subject but I think you all
> > should know what I have found and did.  Learn from others, and don't
> think
> > it won't happen to you.  IT WILL>
> >
> > By the way I buy my grade eight bolts from Fastinal.  They are all
> > cirtified and will give you papers if you ask for it a head of time.
> > Dave
> >
> >
> >
> > -------------- Original message ----------------------
> > From: Scott Derrick <scott at tnstaafl.net>
> >> _______________________________________________
> >> To change your email address, visit
> >> http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector
> >>
> >> Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
> >> user:pw > >> Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
> > Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html
> >
> >
>
>
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>
> > _______________________________________________
> > To change your email address, visit
> > http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector
> >
> > Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
> > user:pw > > Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
> > Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html
>
> _______________________________________________
> To change your email address, visit
> http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/listinfo/reflector
>
> Visit the gallery!  www.tvbf.org/gallery
> user:pw > Check new archives: www.tvbf.org/pipermail
> Check old archives: http://www.tvbf.org/archives/velocity/maillist.html
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.tvbf.org/mailman/private/reflector/attachments/20070210/3de2b84f/attachment.htm 


More information about the Reflector mailing list