I'm working on a CARF Mig 15 that was partially started when I bought it. I got the gear struts and main wheels from Intairco, but I didn't get a nose wheel.

Can anyone out there with a CARF Mig 15 give me the size of the nose wheel? Is it 3" or 3.5"? also, if possible, can you tell me the distance between the bottom of the nose wheel and the bottom of the fuselage when the nose gear is extended?

Thanks!
Bob

Mine is on the bench, if you don’t get an answer by tomorrow I’ll grab some measurements for you.

Nose wheel is 3.5"

https://www.intairco.net/89mm-x-25mm...it-carf-mig15/

If you could get me the measurement from the bottom of the nose wheel to the bottom of the fuselage, that would be great. I'm using Electron gear in it (with the Intairco strut) and I need to make sure I have the gear positioned correctly.

Thanks!
Bob

Morning Bob, on mine the distance from fuse bottom to bottom of the tire measured along the nose strut is almost dead on 5.5". And as mentioned, it is a 3.5" tire.

That's awesome, thanks! I really appreciate it!

Bob

ps. Its helpful to see that your's has a hatch for access to the nose wheel bolts too - I was contemplating that mod...

and that your's has a Sullivan Skylite wheel - just ordered one...

Intairco uses a Skylite tire on the nosewheel they sell, my MiG-15 has the complete Intairco landing gear package, but my wheel looks different then the one shown by Auburn02.

Yep, a previous owner (presumably the builder) added that hatch, very handy to have access there when the gear or rails need to be serviced/repaired.

Hey,
one more quick question. Does the nose retract swing through more than 90 degrees? I seem to be having some trouble getting the strut to be in the correct position and also retract enough to fit into the doors...

Thanks!
Bob

Yes, the retract swings more than 90 degrees, I'd say close to 110 degrees. The wheel comes very close to rubbing the front of the intake when retracted. I played with the angle of the trailing link fork to give me a higher nose when the plane sits on the wheels, this gives you less angle on the trailing arm and will help get the wheel further up into the nose, but too much and it snags the ductwork in the front. Just loosen the set screw in the rear of the upper part of the trailing link and you can move the fake damper in/out to set the ride height of the nose gear.

Thanks, I figured it must because I couldn't get the geometry to work at all with a 90 degree retract.

How about the main gear, do they swing more than 90 degrees? In looking at the gear mounts, it looks like there is an angle side-to-side as well as fore and aft...

Thanks for the help!

Bob

Yes, more than 90 degrees on the mains as well, maybe around 100 degrees but I'm not sure. Yes, there's lots of angles to the main gear and the mounts, I did have to make some plywood wedges to correct the mounts in my wings, and they where not equal left and right. But my kit was an old pre- 2012 remake so it may have improved. The most "fun" I had building this plane was getting the main gear and doors sorted, and I had the correct gear for the job. You have been warned.

In your OP you mention you have the Intairco gear struts and main wheels, but by the questions it sounds like you are missing the retract units. Is this correct? I think they have specific retract angles to fit the plane, getting it all sorted is hard enough a job with the right parts. My advice is to contact Intairco and get the retract units from them if you don't have them.

You are correct, I don't have the Intairco units. I wanted to do the retracts electric, not pneumatic. I ordered the struts with the intention to use Electron retract units.

Intairco used to sell electric versions of the Mig retracts, but unfortunately, they just went out of business, so I'm on my own...

Bob

OK then, that's a bummer. So Intairco went belly up? Will be interesting to see what CARF does then with regards to spares and finding a new gear supplier for the MiG-15.

Well, give me a day or two and I can try to take some measurements and pictures of my retracts with all the specific angles.

That would be great, thanks! According to the Intarico web site, Global Jet Club will be taking over the Intairco products, so I sent them an email to see if they have them available.

Bob

I would be very concerned about using the Intairco electric retracts (if you can get hold of them). I had a set and 2 of the 3 units pulled themselves apart with a couple of cycles on the bench. In my opinion there was a design fault with them that made this inevitable.

Well that's unfortunate. I came quite close to buying their electric upgrade set, only to realize I still had another 6 air cylinders on the plane between doors and speed boards, so I held off. I responded to Peter's post about Intairco changing hands to ask if gear parts would still be available from one of the companies taking over but didn't see a response (believe he said some things were going off to Final Modellbau with other things to GJC), would have liked to have ordered a couple of nose gear pins/bushings at least to keep on hand.

Sounds like you're getting the answers you need Bob, but if I can be any more help I will try.

Well, here's the answer I got on the Intairco Mig-15 gear units...


Mike Lin

1:19 AM (9 hours ago)

to me


---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: GLOBAL JET CLUB Europe <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Jan 4, 2021 at 10:16 PM
Subject: Re: New customer message on January 4, 2021 at 5:33 pm
To: <[email protected]>
CC: Mike Lin <[email protected]>


Hello Bob,

Thanks for your request. Unfortunately the landing gears with wheels / electrical brake are not produced anymore.

I also checked the stock, if we still have one pair, but sorry, it is already a long time that they weren’t produced.

Your GLOBAL-Team,
Dirk

______________________________________
FINAL-Modellbau - GLOBAL JET CLUB Europe

In den Stöcken 20
34305 Niedenstein
Germany
Phone: 0049 5624 922486
Email: [email protected]
www.final-modellbau.de

> Am 05.01.2021 um 07:04 schrieb Mike Lin <[email protected]>:
>
>
> Hi Bob,
>
> We would have to check and see. Would find out more about it for you this week,
>
> Thank you.
>
> Mike
>

I'm going to see if I can get the Electron units with the proper retract angles - I think I can based on the options on their web page...

Bob

Bob,

I've got the gear out of the MiG to give you measurements, and here's what I found.

Nosegear : 110 degrees, Strut is 90 degrees to the retract mounting flange when in the DOWN position.

Maingear : 100 degrees. Strut is parallell with the retract mounting flange when in the UP position.

See attached pictures for more details.

Main gear in the UP position.

Main gear in the DOWN position.

Main gear in the DOWN position.

Nose gear in the DOWN position.

Nose gear in the UP position.

Wow, that is really helpful, thanks! I appreciate your effort in doing that for me.

According to the Electron website, I can get the 100 degree retracts for the mains. For the nose gear, they say that they have an option for a reversed 100 degree retract.

Its less than the 110 degrees of the Intairco units (which I can't get any more anyway), but I think I can make it work by playing with the mount position and angle...

Thanks again!
Bob