Improved method for centering nose gear
 

OK guy's, hope this is a worthy topic. They always say two heads are better than one, so I am interested in what others have done to improve upon this primitive/dated method of centering the nose gear on retraction. Quite simply, on larger/heavier gear, the old straight piece of wire doesn't work worth a crap.


http://216.77.188.54/coDataImages/p/...8821001062.jpg

RE: Improved method for centering nose gear
 

I have the noseleg fixed to the servo, so that the servo does the centering. Upon climbout you usually don't have a lot of rudder input, and upon hitting the retract switch the steering servo is disabled.
I don't like the rope-setup with any kind of centering, because it does next to nothing to prevent nosewheel flutter and can get tangled up in some cases, causing a cear collapse on touchdown....

Just my philosophy :-)

RE: Improved method for centering nose gear
 

I have had some success (with the primitive/dated method) by replacing the stock wire with a thicker/stiffer piece of wire. Bob

RE: Improved method for centering nose gear
 

Miniflyer,

Trying to get a mental picture, but the flash is not going off...any pics?

BalsaBob,

Thought about that, but with a slight twist called a coil. The straight wire just has no recoil action when twisted side to side.

RE: Improved method for centering nose gear
 

What turns the nose year?

If it is a tiller (or yoke), make a coupe of harpoints that the tiller arms contact in the gear up position

Regards,

RE: Improved method for centering nose gear
 

For some reason the carf mig nose gear is very hard on steering wires, i broke many. I ended up getting some thick wire (cable) from the hardware store and i have not broken one in many months of flying. I bent the tiller arms 90d and have not had an issue with the wheel twisting or the wires getting tangled on the wheel in over 80 flights. The wires do not need to be very tight as the nose strut is a trailing type it gets snug as the jets weight sits on it. All in all the setup works and is dependable. There is an alternate method described in pictures on the Intairco web site.

V..

RE: Improved method for centering nose gear
 

I have in the past machined a flat on the oleo and tapped a couple of holes to attach a piece of thin flat spring steel that rests on the knuckle of the retract.Worked great.
Regards,
Bruce

RE: Improved method for centering nose gear
 

Hi,

We don't recommend the cable steering method for the Mig 15, the geometry is really bad for cable steering in this kit and the upturned servo ends up right where you need to get your batteries............. as far forward in the plane as you can. Not to mention it would be a pain in the ....... if you need to get the gear out for any on the field service.

With the Mig15 Gear Instructions we show an alternative way using a push push system that uses the standard steering arms that we supply with the gear. The servo is mount rearward on the floor of the fuse under the cockpit area. There are some pics of this on our webpage at http://www.intairco.net/default.asp?...oGalleryCat=22

Incidentally the centering pin is largely token on this gear, the trailing nature of the nose strut/wheel ensures that the gear stays centred in the extended position and even more so when it is retracted.

Hope this is useful.