REFLECTOR: Front fixed gear question

Thu May 24 10:54:43 CDT 2012

Good to hear I'm not alone on how much weight it takes, Ron. Your theory on
rim vs. tire diameter makes sense. Using die grinder is a good idea - I'll
give that a spin before the fast taxi.

Thanks,
Dennis

On Wed, May 23, 2012 at 9:38 AM, Ron VelocityXLFG <velocityxl at fastmail.fm>wrote:

>   I spun my front wheel up with a die grinder to check for balance worked
> real well.
> I had to add quite a bit of weight to get mine balance also. Rim diameter
> is so small compared
> to the tire that a small amount of weight doe s almost nothing .
>
> Ron
>
>  *From:* Dennis Martin <dennis.doc at gmail.com>
> *Sent:* Wednesday, May 23, 2012 10:23 AM
> *To:* Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list <reflector at tvbf.org>
> *Subject:* Re: REFLECTOR: Front fixed gear question
>
> Thanks for the tips, Grover. I followed all of the points you mentioned.
> Without question one sleeve of weights was not enough to balance my wheel.
> I was surprised how much lead it required, but what to do? The wheel is now
> balanced  - as perfectly as can be done without using a pro balancing
> machine. No tire shops or even motor cycle shops could do it. I'll conduct
> some fast taxi tests before flying again and keep you all informed. My V is
> grounded another week - the PSRU is in the shop.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 10:26 AM, Grover McNair <
> grover at mcnairperformance.com> wrote:
>
>> ****
>>
>> A note on balancing wheels: Weights should be put on opposite the low
>> spot. That would be 180 degrees from the bottom point. An equal amount of
>> weight should be used on both sides of the wheel to avoid a dynamic
>> imbalance.****
>>
>> In balancing a car tire, it rarely takes more than 3-4oz. Usually 1-2oz.
>> One stick of stick on weights is 1.5oz. They are segmented in .25oz
>> pieces.  If you use more than a stick, I would be very concerned that
>> something was wrong with the structure of the tire or perhaps it might have
>> a bad flat spot. Normally balancing a small aviation tire should take less
>> than 1oz.****
>>
>> Grover McNair****
>>
>> ****
>>  ------------------------------
>>
>> *From:* reflector-bounces at tvbf.org [mailto:reflector-bounces at tvbf.org] *On
>> Behalf Of *Dennis Martin
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, May 22, 2012 12:08 PM
>>
>> *To:* Velocity Aircraft Owners and Builders list
>> *Subject:* Re: REFLECTOR: Front fixed gear question****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Definitely install washers. I called factory to make sure. I installed
>> two fairly thick washers on my fixed gear Elite, and it works great.
>>
>> Here's a true story. A friend from **Salt Lake City** flew down to ****
>> Provo**** area where I'm located (40 miles). His front tire went flat
>> and asked if he could borrow my front gear fork, wheel and all. As we
>> installed it on his retractable and resisted the urge to retract. I noticed
>> the slop in the wheel and suggested we fix it. He laughed it off, but
>> almost wet his pants when he landed in SLC. Horrible shimmy he'll never
>> forget.
>>
>> BALANCING FRONT GEAR: I took advice of one of our builders and used
>> adhesive lead weights to balance the front wheel. I bought the weights from
>> the local auto repair shop for $1.50 a sleeve. Very easy task - just leave
>> the wheel on the fork and jack up the front of the plane a few inches. I
>> spun the wheel to find the "bottoming" spot - then marked it with a magic
>> marker. Each time I spun the wheel, the mark ended up at the bottom with
>> 100% consistency. I added weights to the bottoming spot until the wheel
>> behaved. My wheel was way out of balance and required about two full
>> sleeves of weights, so buy two or three sleeves. Also, apply weights in the
>> center of the aluminum wheel and move outward both left and right. Cut
>> weights in half to make them fit the outside part of the rim where spokes
>> get in the way.
>>
>> All the best,
>> Dennis
>>
>>
>> ****
>>
>> On Tue, May 22, 2012 at 8:00 AM, Chris Barber <cbarber at texasattorney.net>
>> wrote:****
>>
>> My hangar mate noticed a concern regarding my front gear on my fixed gear
>> SE.  Since I am doing some cooling mods before continuing high speed taxi,
>> it gave him the opportunity to mention it to me before I careen off the
>> runway....****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Anyway, I have had the front gear installed for years.  I included the
>> two spacer that go on each side of the axel that help hold in the bearings
>> inside the rim.  What was noted was that there is about a quarter inch
>> space on the axel that allows the bearing to move out of the wheel even
>> with the spacers in place.  It still rolls ok but it does allow the wheel
>> to shift a bit back and forth on the axel as it moves.  I hope I am
>> explaining this ok.****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Is this ok, or should I install a couple of shims/washers to keep the
>> wheel from shifting back and forth?****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Thanks.****
>>
>> ****
>>
>> Chris****
>>
>> ****
>>
>>
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> All the best,
>> Dennis****
>>
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>
>
>
> --
> All the best,
> Dennis
>
> ------------------------------
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-- 
All the best,
Dennis
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