RE: Nitro models pusher Bobcat?
I finally finished getting the main retracts in. The plates are glued in and all the cutting is done. Now I need to re-cover the bottom and she is completed. Since I had to cut into the fuse for the wheels to retract in, I was able to put a 4-40 bolt with a blind nut into the wing behind the wing tube to secure it to the fuse. So I have 1/4 - 20 bolts in front of the retaining rod and 4-40's behind the wing tube. I doubt it will be going anywhere.
Now onto the nose gear. I bought the Spring-Air 305's which have the flat mount nose gear. I think I should have gotten to 301's which have the firewall mount. Some guys have built frames in the fuse to mount their flat mount nose gears. I think I found a way to convert my flat mount to a firewall mount without building anything. I will mount my nose gear on a motor mount and then bolt the motor mount to a plywood plate that will go on the bulkhead for the nose gear. The wheel will retract towards the rear of the plane into the center of the fuse unless I cut a big enough hole in the nose of the fuse to mount it to the front of the bulkhead and retract forward.
I had a Hayes mount for a .15 engine in my basket of motor mounts and it has the right clearance between the beams to mount the retract. I drilled the holes in the mount for the gear and I had to couuntersink the holes for the two bottom screws that bolt to the firewall so the gear would fit flush up against the mount. I also had to shave down one of the beams to allow for clearance of the steering arm.
For additional support I will probably use a 1/4 inch piece of ply to mount the motor mount onto and then glue the plywood plate to the bulkhead. Everything has gone smoothly so far except it looks like my bulkhead for the nose gear is not mounted 90 degrees. The bulk head is on a slight angle with the top of the bulk a little forward of the bottom. I am going to have to figure out a way to make a wedge of some kind as a spacer so I can make the bulkhead 90 degrees. Unless I can somehow contol the nose gear to stop so it ends up at 90 degrees. I attached a couple of pictures showing the nose gear on the motor mount.