Nose Gear Lessons Learned

[johnbright]

Originally Posted by Walt

3. Nose Wheel

Replace the Van?s-supplied Matco nose wheel with an improved Grove, Berringer, or Modified Matco (Anti-Splat Wheel and Bearing Modification) wheel.

I have Matco nose wheel in my RV-6A kit under construction.

How do I decide for an upgrade between Grove, Berringer or Anti-Splat Matco?

I see Anti-Splat uses ball bearings. Grove tubeless uses ball bearings while tubed uses tapered roller bearings. Berringer I don't know.

[jdiehl]

Just to shed some light on this discussion, I have the vans matco nose wheel on my 7A and have not had any issues during the past 4 years that it's been flying. This 'original' equipment should serve you well if not abused.

Jim Diehl
7A

[terrye]

Originally Posted by johnbright

How do I decide for an upgrade between Grove, Berringer or Anti-Splat Matco?

Nothing wrong with the Matco wheel, nor taper roller bearings. My C-150 has taper roller bearings in all 3 wheels.

The cheapest "upgrade" is the Matco Axle Assembly
http://www.matcomfg.com/AXLEASSEMBLY...dv-3657-1.html

This allows you to preset the end play of the bearings independently of the bolt tension between the nose wheel fork arms.

[gerrychuck]

Originally Posted by johnbright

I have Matco nose wheel in my RV-6A kit under construction.

How do I decide for an upgrade between Grove, Berringer or Anti-Splat Matco?

I see Anti-Splat uses ball bearings. Grove tubeless uses ball bearings while tubed uses tapered roller bearings. Berringer I don't know.

The nice thing about the Anti-splat ball bearing mod is that you just tighten the axle nut and you're done, with no question as to whether you have it tightened correctly. The reduced rolling resistance hopefully reduces the odds of the nose gear tucking under. Definitely reduced maintenance.

[Bavafa]

Originally Posted by gerrychuck

The nice thing about the Anti-splat ball bearing mod is that you just tighten the axle nut and you're done, with no question as to whether you have it tightened correctly. The reduced rolling resistance hopefully reduces the odds of the nose gear tucking under. Definitely reduced maintenance.

The Matco solid axle does exact the same thing and it cost only $50 and adjustable to for a fine tune settings. Once set, the axle bolt can be torqued with no effect on the wheel.

[Walt]

Originally Posted by johnbright

I see Anti-Splat uses ball bearings. Grove tubeless uses ball bearings while tubed uses tapered roller bearings. Berringer I don't know.

The Beringer is both ball bearing and tubeless.

[Jesse]

Originally Posted by Bavafa

The Matco solid axle does exact the same thing and it cost only $50 and adjustable to for a fine tune settings. Once set, the axle bolt can be torqued with no effect on the wheel.

The Matco axle does make it easier to put the axle bolt on without worrying about getting the exact right torque on it, but it does not decrease the rolling resistance of the tapered roller bearings with the rubber seal.

[mikehoover]

Originally Posted by Walt

The Beringer is both ball bearing and tubeless.

Worth the extra upfront cost to get rid of the tube. I know of at least one builder who had to build and paint a new nose wheel pant because of a flat. That was his third flat due to nose wheel tube failure. He installed the Beringer. No problems since then. I went with the Beringer and have been happy with it. Saves a pound over Vans original set up.

[Malndi]

Another data point in this report relesed today.

http://www.atsb.gov.au/publications/...r/ao-2017-001/

Interestingly, video of the nose gear collapse was available to the investigators. As usual, several factors combined to cause this incident but I found this line from the report quite interesting "In all cases, the nose gear struts and forks made contact with the ground, initiating the damage sequence. The FEA concluded that the nose gear strut had sufficient strength to perform its intended function".

[swisseagle]

Unsure if on this plane, the SB from Vans was done or not?
Interestingly that a RV-6A nosed over ... normaly the 7A was doing it, maybe also because of the much higher gear.