Sorry for the delay in posting, but our big Asheville SPA contest consumed most of my time last week.
I wanted to discuss a few of the features of the TBX-1 in detail before moving on to something I feel will be big news for those who like this plane, (and potentially other Brett designs).
I wanted to look at the landing gear set-up. As we discussed earlier, there is no real reason for dual wheels on each side of the main gear; I believe the L.G. choice was made to give a certain look, as seen above on a full-sized aircraft. Tom was a meticulous builder, and engineer. Workmanship throughout the L.G. system is extremely neat and clean. Notice the wire and metal hold-down clamps are embedded, (recessed), so the main L.G. is flush with the fuselage bottom. The landing gear was custom designed, and what appears to be a custom braking system was used. Willie told me Tom made all his own hardware.
First, notice how the main gear appears to be "toed-in" slightly. Willie told me this was done deliberately to provide better tracking during take-off and landing.
Secondly, look at the brake system. One wheel on each side of the main gear contains what appears to me to be an electric drum brake of some sort. The wire coming from each side looks more like an electric wire than a mechanical cable. COMMENTS???
The nose wheel is also custom made. Back then, (correct me if I'm wrong), there were no commercially available dual strut nosewheels available. It appears Tom fashioned his own dual strut nosewheel that looks professionally done. Unfortunately I didn't take any detailed pictures of the nosewheel.
Any additional thoughts on the landing gear and how it was set up?