Hello Gentlemen,

I am looking for a new MK firewall mounted nose gear retract for my Illusion. I have a new set of MK main gear with a belly mounted nose gear, but I'm not sure the belly mount will fit in the plane. If someone has an extra new MK nose gear retract unit that they would be willing to part with or trade for my belly mount unit, please let me know.

Thanks Fella's

David

David,

the Tipo and the Illusion were roughly conceived for FW mounted nose gear, however... it is possible to use a belly mounted gear. As you know, there is a 1/16" ply tank plate that butts up against the FW (ideally). Before you install the FW and the tank plate, plan where the belly gear needs to go - typically flush against the RHS when viewing the plane from the rear upside down. This allows the header to pass beside the strut on the left and in the case of the Illusion, to even be tucked in the fuse if you mount the engine at 270 degrees (I won't get into that as I haven't sorted it out myself).

Then, epoxy a 1/4" ply plate (or rails) for the gear flanges to the tank plate, either above or below depending on engine/tank plate desired location. If you install the mount point above the plate (i.e., in the tank area), you can also reinforce it with tristock on the FW as well as on the sides if you go all the way to the side of the fuse - this actually would be the strongest although a tad heavier. On the other hand, if you install it underneath, you have the added support of the tank plate which will be bonded to the fuse all around with epoxy/MB (that's what I did). It really boils down to the required tank position but in my case, it needed to be as low as possible as the carb ends up being low when mounting the engine either on the side (e.g., Tipo) or at 270 (Illusion).

MK gear is fairly low profile so you shouldn't have a problem installing the plate low, the mount point underneath and using a 2" nose wheel. It worked on my Tipo's even though I'm using electric Kraft Multicons (much bigger).

The added benefit of using belly mounted gear is that it is much easier to access in a glass fuse. The driver just comes straight down on the screws rather than having to be inserted from the wing or retract opening. I'd use the belly mounted gear as it also makes the tank plate installation and pushrod setup easier.

Hope this helps, David.

Hey David,

Thanks for the info. when I'm ready to build my Illusion, I'll have to lay out everything and see if the belly mount will work. One thing that I've got going for me is that the tank location will not be an issue since I have a YS60 for the plane. However, the engine angle may very well be an issue since the fuse is already cut out to install the motor at approximately a 225 degree angle (if you're looking from the front of the plane). The fuse has also been cut for the header and pipe based on the motor angle.

Since I have a set of trike gear Rhom-Aire retracts with a fire wall mount nose gear, I may decide to use them instead and save my MK retracts for my dream plane - an Atlanta (Hey Chuck, Hint Hint Hint.......)

Atlanta dream plane huh?? I was gently caressing my Atlanta the other night. You might get to see it fly this year!

Trade ya a set of brand new Pro Lines/Dave Browns if your Rhoms are new??

You really like to rub it in don't you?.... That's OK though I'll remember it....

BTW, My Rhom Aire's are not new even though they are in excellent shape. I bought them from Bobby a year or so back..

David

i will still take a look at them if you are willing.

David,

this shot gives you an idea of the slight hassle in installing a FW mounted gear in the Tipo/Illusion. You have to plan it carefully for height, location and drill points before that FW goes in. Also, as you can see, I had to recess the blind nuts and screws to provide space for the retract body itself. I added a couple of lock nuts on the top screws for added security.

It works and the electric gear, in this case, is installed under pressure in a foam sheath into the bracket. However, I'm not thrilled about the mechanism being up close to the vibrating FW. This gear can also be belly mounted (with flanges) and I would have installed it like that if the plane was for my hangar and flying pleasure.

With mechanicals or pneumatics, it's a little less of a problem because the mechanism is simple and not particularly prone to vibration problems. Still, I think I might go with the belly mount approach and keep the entire retract unit below the tank floor (linkage and steering included). I suppose with a pressurized YS, you could locate the tank higher and further back but keeping the tank low is desirable in any case.

If it's helpful, I can take a shot of the actual plane too but you're using different retracts.

David.

P.S. I've got to get this bird finished this Spring!

David,

Thanks for the tips & pictures. Any other pictures you can find of your plane would be greatly appreciated. Nice looking plane you have there. Looks like with some filling, sanding, priming and painting, your plane should be ready for spring with no problem...

David

Pictures!!! Please!!!

Anytime.

I'll get some pictures when I'm at a more productive point. Actually, in my estimate I'm only about 40% done. The assembly and finish is the most time consuming of course. Not to mention that there is a second one that I need to bring up to this stage...

BTW, check your cores thoroughly. Both my sets were of "questionable" quality and it took some acrobatics to get this wing to line-up symmetrically. If in doubt, I'd toss them and have some fresh ones cut. It's not worth the build time, balsa and materials to end up with a wing that needs to be massaged into symmetry. At the moment I'm ticked off with the stab cores on T2 which I sheeted quickly and realized that one of them was improperly cut [:@] (TE is not straight). I can fix it but it will probably take as much time as building a new one.

David.