RE: My Dad's next plane?
Agreed.
The individual gear legs into the wing can be a weak area for less than ideal landing or less than ideal conditions like grass or rough dirt.
The plate style is much stronger than the individual into the the wings.
The best for rough landings is the individuals that both come back to the fuselage and are wide but at a low angle. They are much more suited to being able to act like a shock.
My old Avistar 40 had this type of LG.