Robart 630 nose gear and strut, the centering wire is too short that came with it, what are some normal solutions?

Shape a new one with piano wire?

Hey Sean

Can you post a clearer picture. One focused on the strut and not the wall behind it?

Ed

don't call Robart. 6 weeks ago I was told my order was being shipped that day. Still do not have it as now they are again making the parts. Must have sold the first ones to GP.

As an alternative.........ask someone in your vicinity who has built an Avonds F16. This part has no use on his altered 90° nose gear twist system and is set asside. (From looking at your pic. mine was indeed longer.)
Could sent you mine for free, would be expensive little wire though as it has to be shipped from Europe to you......

Regards,
Gerald

Ive had nothing but the opposite experience. I broke the nipple off of one of my air cylinders in a 630 model. Robart offered to fix it for me. I told them that I was flying the following weekend so they overnighted me a brand new cylinder. Thats the only dealings Ive had directly with them, but my experience was good.

Mike

Sean, I have a replacement wire if you need it.

Is the wire definitely all the way down, under the retaining screw at the top ?

A temporary and non-perfect possibility ... if you bend both legs of the wire inwards sliightly, then they will effectively seem longer (Basic trig - assuming we measure the angle at the top - reduce theta, reduce the opposite, keep the hypoteneuse constant, then the adjacent must become longer).

Gordon

Hey Gord, thanks for the options, all of which had been exhausted. I'm considering just tapping the screw a little lower, I hate drilling and tapping aluminum. Robart used to get everything Right, but this is just dumb.

Oh well, thanks for all the help options guys,

Sean

OK - another temporary possibility if Todd can't get you the replacement wire as quick as you would like... how much clearance is there for the "arms" when the gear is in it's retracted position ? What I'm thinking of, is that if you can't get the wire longer, can you get the arms to be "higher" by e.g. C.A-ing a thin plywood tab on top of the arms ? With the right CA it should hold well enough until you get the replacement wire, and CA solvent can be used to clean the arms up afterwards when you remove the tabs.

Another "imperfect" and inelegant solution to be sure, but it might get you going in the short term. If you do try this though, please test that you have proper adhesion on the tabs, as you wouldn't want to lose ground steering due to an insufficient bond.

Along similar lines - could you "extend" the spring very slightly by crimping / soldering / whatever a thin brass tube over the ends of the wire ?

Gordon

You the man Gordon, didn't think about soldering brass that would work, but would be fugly.

I'm in no hurry at all, I just started on the airplane this is going into, and wanted to set it on gear, but I'll wait.

Todd, I'm gonna put an order in on your site, just throw the right retainer in there, this is the nose gear retract I bought from you in March or April. I got a second hand ROO that I'm putting together for a buddy of mine, and came across this.

Todd, FYI, the length on this wire is 1.5 inches, needs to be more than that even if it's just an 1/8 of an inch.

Not that I have a problem with FUGLY

Sean

Your problem is that the strut does not recess into the trunion as deep as it should.

Just bevel the edge of the top of the strut and recess it as deep as you could get it and you will be ok. The rotating part of the strut that tightens into the trunion should be flush with the opening and that is not the case in your picture

Ben, that helped, and got me close enough. Thanks.