Angle of "attack" question
 

I just moved to a grass runway and replaced my beat up nose wheel steering rod with a new one that is longer. However, since I didn't change the main gear, the airplane now is noticably higher at the nose than the tail.

I'd rather not replace the main gear this late in the season, so how much "angle of attack" will start to cause problems.

Thanks

Angle of "attack" question
 

what kind of plane is it?? if its a high wing trainer.. you may experience it taking off a bit early. and when landing.. you really have to make sure you flare.. other wise you will bash the nosewheel into the ground and run the risk of it cartwheeling down the runway... for grass, you only need bigger tires.. it will help tremondously. the first few flights will be a learning process.. as long as it isnt grossly longer... shouldnt be too much of a problem.. just a little diffrent.

Angle of "attack" question
 

It depends on how much nose up you have. A little nose up on grass isn't a big deal, and shouldn't be a problem for you at all.

In fact, in tall grass a little nose up makes taking off a lot easier and won't affect landings at all. If your landing is smooth, you shouldn't have a bouncing problem, since the grass will slow the plane down rather quickly. Of course this does vary quite a bit depending on how nose up your plane is, how tall the grass is, and how big your wheels are.

There are some guys at my field who wouldn't know a flair if it bit them, they are so used to the braking action of the tall grass. They don't bounce on the landings, but if they flew off of pavement it would be a different story.

As far as how much is a problem, it's really hard to say, I've never taken measurements, it's an eyeball or "try it and see" kind of thing. Usually no more than a couple of degrees though.

Angle of "attack" question
 

Are the main gear the aluminum bolt-on type, or the wire type?

If it is a bolt-on, you can just add a plywood shim between it and the fuse to compensate.

Angle of "attack" question
 

How much is too much depends on a lot of things. What plane is it on? I also agree with Montague. Your landing style can make all the difference. One of our instructor pilots tells his students that at the time the trainer touches the ground you should be holding full up elevator and be at full idle. (I assume its for the LT-40 as your 4*60 is a taildragger). And as GraupnerFan mentioned - bigger main (or smaller nose) wheels will level it up some.

You might need to feed in a bit of down elevator on takeoff to get up speed. You can also squeeze in or bend the main gear to raise the fuselage (assuming they are angled and not straight drops like on a Contender or Kavalier - or retracts).

LT-40
 

It's not more than a few degrees. I already bent the main gear in, any more and I'd be afraid it would tip over.

I plan on getting some bigger main gear tires, but can't get to the LHS before the flying session tomorrow.

I'll be careful to flare, I think that should be enough.

Thanks for the help.