Bob Barrow
Joined: 11 Jan 2006
Posts: 29
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 Posted: Mon Jun 26, 2006 2:07 am Post subject: Nose fairing needs redesign |
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There seems to be a blissly optimistic feeling out there that increasing the
fork bolt clearance on the RV7A, 8A, and 9A will provide increased nose gear
safety. However the nose fairing as supplied by Vans is still the original
one and does not have increased ground clearance (ie. it does not take
advantage of the increased fork clearance).
Some people have expressed an opinion that this arrangement is OK because
the fairing will disintegrate....maybe, but if that is the case it will most
likely be pushed back onto the tyre causing a braking action. On the other
hand if it doesn't disintegrate it will cause friction with the ground, also
causing a braking action. Either way it's bad news.
People should not underestimate the problem of the fairing bottoming out
and/or being pushed backwards into the tyre. It is well documented that many
RV(A)s have suffered nose gear failure simply from the tyre having
insufficient clearance from the fairing. In one well known instance a pilot
had a collapsed nose gear on his very first take-off run due to insufficient
tyre clearance. Van himself has cautioned about the intrinsic risk of
fairing to tyre contact resulting in nose gear failure.
The current Vans nose gear design has very little structural redundancy but
a fairing with greater ground clearance would certainly provide for a better
margin of safety.
| Quote: | From: N67BT(at)aol.com
Reply-To: rv-list(at)matronics.com
To: rv-list(at)matronics.com
Subject: Van's newest nose wheel fork
Date: Sat, 24 Jun 2006 19:00:37 EDT
Tri gear RVers,
I just finished changing out my original nose wheel fork for the smaller
version from Van's. I will be operating off of a somewhat uneven strip so
I
wanted more ground clearance. Also, I'm using a heavy engine and this
conversion will be about 3 pounds lighter than the old setup. For my
situation, it
was well worth the expense and effort.
A comparison photo is posted on my web site for you interested nose
dragger
types.
http://users.aol.com/n67bt (scroll down to fifth photo)
Bob Trumpfheller
RV7A N67BT Not yet flying
Preparation for paint
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