Nose wheel on grass failure inevitable?

[Joby]

I just bought a beautiful RV 9A to use on my Farm strip which is 2000 feet long and very smooth. My bird has the Antisplat nose mod so I thought it would be fine. Yesterday I read a thread describing a nose gear failure on a ?very smooth grass strip? after a normal landing the gear tube bent above the antisplat brace at 20 mph. He said the nose raised then fell to the ground as the gear tube bent completely. It didn?t flip over but of course the prop struck the ground. This makes me wonder if a gear tube failure is inevitable after enough landings on grass. Could it be that the slight but constant wiggling that the upper noise gear tube receives from taxing on grass will cause it to harden over time leading to eventual failure?

If this is the case is there some deformity to inspect for that would warn of imminent failure?

Joby Wieser

[Tooch]

I live on a grass strip, and not the smoothest, and have hundreds of grass landings. I think there may be more to the story.

[Infidel]

I agree as mentioned above. I believe most failures are a result of the Pilot using the nose gear as landing gear instead of taxi gear. I've always operated my tri-gear planes in the "soft field" mode and never had any problems.

[pa38112]

NO, They are not inevitable!!!
The certified fleet has just as many nose gear issues as the RV fleet. Treat it right and you will be fine. There are a few modifications you can do to give yourself a wider margin of error. You already have the nose job. The wheel bearings/axel play a large role. If you have tapered bearings then they can lock-up when the thin axel bolt flexes. I would install a Matco axel. With those two modifications you should be fine.

[Bill Boyd]

I have 950 hours and 20 years on a grass strip that's called Hop-Along for more reasons than one, no modifications, not even the factory SB's except to replace the gear leg with the "new" taper 18 years ago. and no issues. I treat it with respect - like Infidel said, every op is a soft-field op.

The only damage I've ever had was from taxiing into a pothole on an unfamiliar grass strip and from trying too hard on a BFR to impress a CFI who wanted a short landing over an imaginary 50 foot tree at the threshold of a paved 7,001 foot runway. Both resulted in broken nosewheel pants & brackets, but neither hurt the gear itself.

At this point, I'm going to keep flying the ol' gal like I know how, and not worry with mods that add weight and cost to the plane (says the man whose Easy Exit bar from AntiSplat arrives in the mail next week )

My advice is to respect the relative frailty of the nose gear and baby it at all times, but without fear. Enjoy a great airplane.

[penguin]

They are certainly not inevitable!

I have approx 700hrs on a 6A and many, many landings on grass of all grades with no "nose wheel" accidents. Without intending to insult anyone (but comments on piloting ability are often taken as an insult), nose wheel related mishaps are usually due to poor handling. Land on the main wheels, hold the nose wheel off while possible and lower to the ground gently and under control, taxi at a moderate speed. This isn't a Cessna noseleg, but accidents are certainly not inevitable. Anti-splat should help, but gross mis-handling will break almost anything.

BTW the nose leg is a solid bar.

Pete

[M McGraw]

Originally Posted by Joby

I just bought a beautiful RV 9A to use on my Farm strip which is 2000 feet long and very smooth. My bird has the Antisplat nose mod so I thought it would be fine. Yesterday I read a thread describing a nose gear failure on a ?very smooth grass strip? after a normal landing the gear tube bent above the antisplat brace at 20 mph. He said the nose raised then fell to the ground as the gear tube bent completely. It didn?t flip over but of course the prop struck the ground. This makes me wonder if a gear tube failure is inevitable after enough landings on grass. Could it be that the slight but constant wiggling that the upper noise gear tube receives from taxing on grass will cause it to harden over time leading to eventual failure?

If this is the case is there some deformity to inspect for that would warn of imminent failure?

Joby Wieser

Look for a thread titled ?Do you collect grass strips?. Vlad may well have been on every grass strip in America. He flys a 9A.

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by Tooch

I live on a grass strip, and not the smoothest, and have hundreds of grass landings. I think there may be more to the story.

The only thing that can ever be said with any certainty regarding any accident report is that "there is always more to the story"

[Joby]

Thanks for all your comments. My fear was misplaced.

Joby

[Vlad]

You will be alrite Joby. Just work on your landings you will develop a safe technique very fast.

Well, if you get carried away and befriend these types better get a roll of good duct tape. Helps to hold the nose wheel fairing together after you taxi over a rut.