Hello all,

I am about to start construction on a GP Trainer 40. (the good one) I want to install a Saito .65 and larger ailerons and also convert it to a taildragger. The plans show the standard trike setup and I expect I will need to beef up the fuse where the mains will go.
I will be setting the firewall back as shown on the additional instructions, appx. 1.5 inches.
thanks,

Jimmy

Also, if anyone out there has a Trainer 60 kit they might want to sell, Lets talk. email me offline.
[email protected]

Jimmy,

What a great airplane! The Trainer 60 was my teacher. It also became a good sport plane with a number of modifications. At one point I converted mine to taildragger. I just mounted the gear plate forward so the axles were under the leading edge ... pretty simple.

Have fun!

Bedford

If you have plans for this thing, or at least a side view, they'll show the axle position with respect to the center of gravity. You have to put the axle ahead of the CG (I know - duh!) but if it's TOO far forward you'll have a ground-looping monster on your hands.

If I was experimenting, I think I'd mount music-wire landing gear about an inch ahead of the CG, then start bending it forward and back (while at the field and playing) to get the ground-handling I wanted. All I did for tail gear was drill a hole up through the fuse, mount a hinge and a bent piece of music wire 'sewn' to the rudder. This might seem crude, but the rudder absorbed lots of the shock of landing/handling with transmitting it to the rudder servo.

Have fun Taildraggers are simpler and more traditional and NO more difficult to land/take-off than conventional - easier, in my opinion.

The usual location for tail dragger landing gear is with the axles directly below the leading edge of the wing for straight wing airplanes.