Phoenixangel

Guys my strega has been flown like 6 times never suffered a hard landing, but the main gear is the type that fits into a hole on one end of a guide channel cut into the wing, this was an ARF so I do not know what wood is in the hole as I did not cover it.

The hole that the gear wire fits into is slowly enlarging and the gear is developing movement it is maybe about 1/16th slack at this point but no doubt will continue to worsen with time.

I was wondering without having to recover the wings is there a decent way to stop this from getting worse ?

shd3920

Maybe remove the landing gears, fill the holes with 30-minute epoxy, and replace landing gears. Let set a few hours and see how it goes.

Possible solution . . . that's what I would try.

Redback

Find a piece of alumininum or brass tube that the wire of the U/C will fit snugly into.

Drill out the hole in the wing to fit the tube (being careful not to drill all through the wing, the kind of mistake I might make).

Epoxy a suitable length of tube into the drilled out hole and:-

Voila, slack gone and a new hole that will not wear!

Terry

OzMo

My Feedback: (3)

Good sugestions so far, A little salad oil on the gear insert and some epoxy in the hole works well also. As the spring steel fatigues over time yuo may experience some bend back. Swapping sides with the gear is a temporary fix for that sometimes.

DavidAgar

My Feedback: (108)

I have many planes flying around with epoxy in the hole. Seems that the vibration from normal take offs and landings will gradually enlarge the hole if the wood is a little on the soft side. Make sure to lube up your wire before putting it into the epoxy or this fix will be a one time only deal. Good Luck, Dave

Phoenixangel

all done thanks guys

opjose

Been here too, with an identical gear setup.

All of the above suggestions are good, but the problem will tend to come back.

The reason is the design of the gear is putting a LOT of torque into the little hole. Even after putting in epoxy or a metal retainer, the hole will continue to enlarge due to the pressure.

Another few flights and you are right back where you are now.



But you CAN solve this problem this way.

Remove the gear and solder on a right angle 90 degree wire bent to fit backward from the point the gear wire joins the wing.
Make sure the wire attaches and angles off BELOW the circular spring loops.

The idea is to spread the torque forces out over a much larger area while retaining the gear springiness. You are making a second ( or even a third! ) support leg to prevent the angular lever movement.

This will stop the hole from enlargening altogether.