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kitfox555(at)sbcglobal.ne
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brubakermal(at)yahoo.com
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 Posted: Thu Dec 09, 2010 6:27 pm Post subject: best way to adjust toe in? |
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i asked the same question a year ago but for the life of me i cant remember what i came up with. i did everything sugested and it seemed very interesting at the time. eventualy i just changed the tires and they seemed ok for a while but now they are wearing out in the same place agin so maybe ill just rotate them mal
Malcolm Brubaker
Michigan Sport
Pilot Repair
LSRM-A, PPC, WS
(989)513-3022
From: jerry evans <kitfox555(at)sbcglobal.net>
To: kitfox-list(at)matronics.com
Sent: Thu, December 9, 2010 6:45:16 PM
Subject: best way to adjust toe in?
Is there anyone that can tell me the best way to adjust toe in on a Model 2 , the out side of the right tire is wearing out fast ? Or is it the camber?
Jerry Evans
KitfoxII
Magalia Calif.
N582'er'
kitfox 555
[quote]www.//www.buildersbooks.com/" rel=nofollow target=_blank>www.buildersbooks.=============
[b]
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lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net
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| Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 8:15 am Post subject: best way to adjust toe in? |
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Jerry,
First a story. I used to use a local (Alaska experience) DFI for my BFRs. He liked to play with the Model IV during the check ride and I usually had to replace the tires after each BFR. I couldn't seem to convince him that the cowl on the Kitfox tapers toward the prop and if you line it up like you do in a Cessna, using the side of the cowl as a reference, you are always landing in a crab. I mention this because your ground down tire is on the right side which is exactly what would happen if you are using the cowl side to line up the airplane on approach - you might be touching in a slight crab. One early recommendation, when I was doing my first airplane's test period, was to line the airplane up - on the ground - with a distance object (tree) then get inside, find your comfortable seat position, then with a grease pencil or a piece of 1/8" masking tape draw a vertical line on the windshield over the distant object. This way you have a real visual reference on what is really straight ahead.
regarding the toe-in. Early on the factory sent out a service letter and this is basically their recommendation. First, secure the airplane to the floor. I made an "A" frame device bolted to the floor that secured the tail. (This is needed if you want to follow their instructions in correcting the alignment). Then drop plumb lines from the main tail wheel bolt to the floor, and from the mid point of the belly between the gear legs, then connecting those points you would get the long axis of the airplane. Then you will want to find the angle of each wheel (axle) and determine the tow-in. When I did it, I clamped a piece of angle iron to the axle and again dropped lines to the floor and by extending these lines, I was able to determine the angle of the axles to the center line. I think you will find that with the early landing gear, there is up to 3 degrees toe in as a matter of course. I f you have a cad program or a friend who has one, these measurements will be an easy calculation in the program.
Straightening the toe in is basically, putting a piece of pipe over the axles and muscling them into alignment. I put a piece of copper tubing inside my cheater pipe to protect the threads. The results was quite surprising. That .049 wall tubing weldment is surprisingly tough. The gear legs held firm and the correction was all in the axles. It is mild steel and bends quite nicely. I did have to shim my brake caliper with washers to bring it into alignment with my new axle position. If you really want to tweak the legs themselves, you will need some heat - like orange.
Another way to do a quick and dirty check on alignment is to position your airplane and at the aft most position on the tire (axle height), put a piece of masking tape and a vertical mark. Do this on each tire. Measure between the marks, then move the airplane forward until the marks are at axle height on the forward side of the tire and measure again. This will give you a ball park indication on the alignment. It won't tell you which gear leg to concentrate on, but will indicate an overall problem.
Hope this helps.
Lowell
From: jerry evans (kitfox555(at)sbcglobal.net)
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 3:45 PM
To: kitfox-list(at)matronics.com (kitfox-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: best way to adjust toe in?
Is there anyone that can tell me the best way to adjust toe in on a Model 2 , the out side of the right tire is wearing out fast ? Or is it the camber?
Jerry Evans
KitfoxII
Magalia Calif.
N582'er'
kitfox 555
[quote]
href="http://www.aeroelectric.com">www.aeroelectric.com
href="http://www.buildersbooks.com">www.buildersbooks.com
href="http://www.homebuilthelp.com">www.homebuilthelp.com
href="http://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/chref="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Kitfox-List">http://www.matronhref="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.matronics.com
[b]
| | - The Matronics Kitfox-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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Pat Reilly
Joined: 06 Aug 2009
Posts: 345
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| Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 9:36 am Post subject: best way to adjust toe in? |
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Lowell, I had a hell of a time lining up on the runnway until I put a piece of black electrical tape on my cowl to give me a reference to be aligned straight down the runway on landing. I wouldn't call the crab "slight" when I used the unmarked cowel to line up. It was a "big" crab that was not managable. I still have to tell myself I use the tape to line up as it still looks like I am crabbed to the left when I am properly lined up.
Pat Reilly
Mod 3 582 REbuilt
Rockford, IL
On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 10:12 AM, Lowell Fitt <lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net (lcfitt(at)sbcglobal.net)> wrote:
| Quote: | Jerry,
First a story. I used to use a local (Alaska experience) DFI for my BFRs. He liked to play with the Model IV during the check ride and I usually had to replace the tires after each BFR. I couldn't seem to convince him that the cowl on the Kitfox tapers toward the prop and if you line it up like you do in a Cessna, using the side of the cowl as a reference, you are always landing in a crab. I mention this because your ground down tire is on the right side which is exactly what would happen if you are using the cowl side to line up the airplane on approach - you might be touching in a slight crab. One early recommendation, when I was doing my first airplane's test period, was to line the airplane up - on the ground - with a distance object (tree) then get inside, find your comfortable seat position, then with a grease pencil or a piece of 1/8" masking tape draw a vertical line on the windshield over the distant object. This way you have a real visual reference on what is really straight ahead.
regarding the toe-in. Early on the factory sent out a service letter and this is basically their recommendation. First, secure the airplane to the floor. I made an "A" frame device bolted to the floor that secured the tail. (This is needed if you want to follow their instructions in correcting the alignment). Then drop plumb lines from the main tail wheel bolt to the floor, and from the mid point of the belly between the gear legs, then connecting those points you would get the long axis of the airplane. Then you will want to find the angle of each wheel (axle) and determine the tow-in. When I did it, I clamped a piece of angle iron to the axle and again dropped lines to the floor and by extending these lines, I was able to determine the angle of the axles to the center line. I think you will find that with the early landing gear, there is up to 3 degrees toe in as a matter of course. I f you have a cad program or a friend who has one, these measurements will be an easy calculation in the program.
Straightening the toe in is basically, putting a piece of pipe over the axles and muscling them into alignment. I put a piece of copper tubing inside my cheater pipe to protect the threads. The results was quite surprising. That .049 wall tubing weldment is surprisingly tough. The gear legs held firm and the correction was all in the axles. It is mild steel and bends quite nicely. I did have to shim my brake caliper with washers to bring it into alignment with my new axle position. If you really want to tweak the legs themselves, you will need some heat - like orange.
Another way to do a quick and dirty check on alignment is to position your airplane and at the aft most position on the tire (axle height), put a piece of masking tape and a vertical mark. Do this on each tire. Measure between the marks, then move the airplane forward until the marks are at axle height on the forward side of the tire and measure again. This will give you a ball park indication on the alignment. It won't tell you which gear leg to concentrate on, but will indicate an overall problem.
Hope this helps.
Lowell
From: jerry evans (kitfox555(at)sbcglobal.net)
Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2010 3:45 PM
To: kitfox-list(at)matronics.com (kitfox-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: best way to adjust toe in?
Is there anyone that can tell me the best way to adjust toe in on a Model 2 , the out side of the right tire is wearing out fast ? Or is it the camber?
Jerry Evans
KitfoxII
Magalia Calif.
N582'er'
kitfox 555
|
--
Pat Reilly
Mod 3 582 Rebuild
Rockford,IL
[quote][b]
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Guy Buchanan
Joined: 16 Jul 2006
Posts: 1204
Location: Ramona, CA
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| Posted: Fri Dec 10, 2010 1:51 pm Post subject: best way to adjust toe in? |
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On 12/9/2010 3:45 PM, jerry evans wrote:
| Quote: | Is there anyone that can tell me the best way to adjust toe in on a
Model 2 , the out side of the right tire is wearing out fast ? Or is
it the camber?
|
Jerry,
One thing to consider is that IF there is any camber (tops wider
than bottoms) when the plane's horizontal then you'll have massive
toe-in when it's three-point, regardless of how much toe-in you have
when horizontal. Just FYI.
Guy Buchanan
Kitfox IV-1200 / 582-C / Warp 3cs
| | - The Matronics Kitfox-List Email Forum - | | | Use the List Feature Navigator to browse the many List utilities available such as the Email Subscriptions page, Archive Search & Download, 7-Day Browse, Chat, FAQ, Photoshare, and much more:
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_________________
Guy Buchanan
Deceased K-IV 1200
A glider pilot too. |
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