Mechanical Stop for the Freewing Hawk Front Nosegear.
The trials and tribulations of trying to operate my Freewing Hawk off of a grass field continue.
The other day I flew my hawk at my grass field and had a good flight until the landing. The mains touched down nicely but as soon as the nosewheel came down it caught in the tall grass and the plane came to a complete halt in about 3 feet!
The force of the sudden deceleration bent the nosewheel strut back and my flying day was over.
It occurred to me that since the nosewheel strut on this plane retracts forward, I could put a hard stop behind it to take the landing force and keep the front strut from bending.
The pictures below explain the procedure:
Plywood support glued to back of nosegear bay.
Side view
Screw used as adjustable stop for nosegear strut. Now base of strut and retract mechanism does not have to take brunt of the landing forces.
Completed upgrade. By the way, also upgraded to duel nosewheels to help with rolling thru the grass. Since this is a T45, its scale!
Nosewheel shown retracted.
Hope this gives you guys some ideas!
Vance
The trials and tribulations of trying to operate my Freewing Hawk off of a grass field continue.
The other day I flew my hawk at my grass field and had a good flight until the landing. The mains touched down nicely but as soon as the nosewheel came down it caught in the tall grass and the plane came to a complete halt in about 3 feet!
The force of the sudden deceleration bent the nosewheel strut back and my flying day was over.
It occurred to me that since the nosewheel strut on this plane retracts forward, I could put a hard stop behind it to take the landing force and keep the front strut from bending.
The pictures below explain the procedure:
Plywood support glued to back of nosegear bay.
Side view
Screw used as adjustable stop for nosegear strut. Now base of strut and retract mechanism does not have to take brunt of the landing forces.
Completed upgrade. By the way, also upgraded to duel nosewheels to help with rolling thru the grass. Since this is a T45, its scale!
Nosewheel shown retracted.
Hope this gives you guys some ideas!
Vance
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