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Bent main gear leg

R

ronoc74

Active Member
Does anyone have a gear leg like this:

Bent_leg.jpg


I don't see how it could happen. The apex of the bend is right where the block of wood held the leg down in the crate, but there's no way a few staples could take the force needed to bend solid steel that thick!

Is it even a problem?

Conor McCarthy
RV-9A 90990 fuselage
QLD, Australia
 
Last edited:
I doubt any of us would have noticed it. You will fine tune it on installation so Id go with it.

Best,
 
Kahuna said:
I doubt any of us would have noticed it. You will fine tune it on installation so Id go with it.

Best,
Click to expand...
Kahuna,

I don't know how he is going to "fine tune it" since the bolt holes are pre-drilled on the -9's.

Conor,

Contact Van's to see what they have to say.
 
Dont the owners mount and measure the sweep an toe and shim? :confused:
taildragger or sissy wheel, this would be required even on a predrilled.
 
You pay Van's for new - Straight part's.
Have them replace it.

Your are building a brand new airplane. Build it right the
1st time. You will never regret it.

--They may blame it on the shipper--
 
Dont the owners mount and measure the sweep an toe and shim?
taildragger or sissy wheel, this would be required even on a predrilled.
Click to expand...

Not on the newer -6, -7, and -9 models. The builder just sticks the gear leg in the socket, inserts a bolt and the deal is done, no adjustments possible unless drastic measures are taken.

The gear leg looks bent to me.
 
Hydraulic press

As slight as the bend is, I'd strongly consider finding a hydraulic press and give it a little persuasion and check it with a straight edge. Only because you're in Oz and the shipping back 'n forth will be so time consuming,
Regards,
 
straightening

would probaly be ok, but that or replacement should be required. i second the voice about new straight parts you paid for. send a pic to vans. realize any loss in length is going to be multiplied at the wing tip exponentialy. 1/8 at the leg x the length. could end up sitting noticeably uneven.
my.02
 
Sam Buchanan said:
Not on the newer -6, -7, and -9 models. The builder just sticks the gear leg in the socket, inserts a bolt and the deal is done, no adjustments possible unless drastic measures are taken.

The gear leg looks bent to me.
Click to expand...
The new kits are great! In one day I assembled my wheels, installed the engine mount, inserted the gear legs, and hung my engine.

It can't get any better than that!
 
Paul said:
You pay Van's for new - Straight part's.
Have them replace it.

Your are building a brand new airplane. Build it right the
1st time. You will never regret it.

--They may blame it on the shipper--
Click to expand...
More likely the heat treater. I don't think the shipper could bend it short of driving over it on an uneven surface.

I do think the heat treater can do a better job supporting the part when it's hot and soft.

-mike
 
Thanks for the opinions. Ken Scott said this about it:
"Gear legs are rarely perfectly straight after heat treating. This should present no problem at all."

I might take it to an SAAA (our EAA) meeting and see what people think about straightening it, if only for cosmetic reasons.

Conor McCarthy
RV-9A 90990 fuselage
QLD, Australia
 
I know of one -9 builder who noticed his gear was bent after he had been flying it for a while. Improper heat treatment was thought to be the cause after consulting with Vans and the part was replaced.
 
I wouldn't straighten it unless you have the means to stress relieve it ( Bake Oven ) after you straighten it. Then I would have it Mag inspected which also requires you to strip the paint.
Get Van's to ship you a new one! :mad:


Robert Scott
Quality Mgr. Johnson Mfg.
RV 9A Finishing Stages
www.myrv9a.com
 
hmmm

now im gonna check mine and if is missed it then iguess ken i correct. io however doubt it. will post later this evening if it is bent.
 
I'd have Van's replace the leg. If you do anything to try to "fix" it and something does happen (God forbid) on a subsequent flight, you give Van's a LOT of wiggle room to get out of any liability. They'll just say the leg was fine when they sent it, it must have been something you did to FIX it. Just email them the picture and politely ask that you'd like it exchanged. That's my advice for what it's worth.
 
ronoc74 said:
Thanks for the opinions. Ken Scott said this about it:
"Gear legs are rarely perfectly straight after heat treating. This should present no problem at all."

I might take it to an SAAA (our EAA) meeting and see what people think about straightening it, if only for cosmetic reasons.

Conor McCarthy
RV-9A 90990 fuselage
QLD, Australia
Click to expand...

My RV-4 legs were straight as an arrow. Maybe you should start a poll in the general section of the forum asking how many people received bent gear legs and just flew them that way.

Tell him you're building an oshkosh grand champion and a bent gear leg is not an option. :)
 
Call Vans AGAIN!

Conor,
Looking at the bend it appears to me that it is going to alter the toe in. This doesn't bode well for shimmy or straight tracking.

I see you have contacted Vans and got a ?sheel be roight!? response. Not good enough, but you may have to be a little MORE persuasive to have the decision reversed; as I found with my exhaust.
The exhaust they supplied in my FWF kit would not fit, but they washed their hands of it and told me to contact Vetterman.
When I insisted it was for a different engine, as it did not fit the exhaust stud pattern of my Straight Valve, they assured me ALL Lycomings have the same stud pattern.
It was only when I checked my mates ANGLE Valve and found that the exhaust stud pattern was the mirror of the STRAIGHT valve and sent them an revealing picture, that they WENT OUT TO THE STORE AND CHECKED TWO ENGINES and found they were wrong.
After that, they couldn?t send me a replacement fast enough and they did not even ask for me to send the other one back; I did offer. Nup.
So, as the Aussies say, don?t let them fob you off.
Pete.
 
Good on ya mate. Good thing your chine had an engine about the place.

(please forgive for the lame attempt at ozzie slang) :eek:
 
China

Scott,
It's China. Rhyming Slang.
China Plate,........ Rhymes with Mate.
Pete.
 
wellll

went out and checked mine, mains installed, no eng. very straight.
nose leg seems to be shaped like an hour glass but symetrical narrowing near the bottom (4-6 inches from the bend) no left to right or fore and aft deviations. i vote bent and should be replaced . the upside of alignment is the tires are small and wont magnify like a bent component on a machine with larger tire/wheel assy's.
 
If Van's drills the gear legs after they've been heat treated, then your alignment should be just fine. The bend looks very slight and will be covered by the gear leg fairing. My .02 cents---I'd use it as is.
 
NO!

I don't dare go and look at mine....man am I glad they're covered with the fairings.......whew!! It lands so well now! :D
 
rodrv6 said:
If Van's drills the gear legs after they've been heat treated, then your alignment should be just fine. The bend looks very slight and will be covered by the gear leg fairing. My .02 cents---I'd use it as is.
Click to expand...

So would I.

The part is not perfect. But it is not for a Boeing or the leg would cost $67000. I have the same gripe about the canopy frame, it could be bent better, but that too would cost more $$$.

The RV kit is a very good value, perhaps the best on the market, and to expect perfection in every part, every time is not realistic.

The FAA certified my first airplane and in the process I confessed that one wing tip was off by 3/8". The guy laughed and said, don't sweat it, I've seen new Cessnas off by over an inch.

Like, Pierre, I did not check mine and won't. The airplane lands just fine and I'm still on the first set of tires after 100's of landings. :)

dd
 
I'm with David ,take it from someone who's on there 4th RV. My first 4 had a badly twisted aileron probably at least an inch of twist along its length. I figured I would replace it someday but as the project moves along you tend to forget about things and the day comes to mount the ailerons on the wing.
I figured why not see how it flys first before building another. So I mounted the flaps ( they were much easier to keep straight back then), set those with the airfoil template. then I matched the inboard ends of the ailerons to the flaps, then matched the wingtips to the outboard ends of the ailerons.
The effect was that if you sighted down the wing tips everything looked perfect. In flight it's been the only Rv I've flown that didn't need some aileron squeezing to make it fly hands off straight!!!, and I've gotten alot better about building straight surfaces since then. The moral of this story is "Don't sweat the small stuff", the gear leg is fine, the Aussies notwithstanding, Van's is usually right. This forum is a wonderful tool but sometimes there are too many opinions.
Just my 2 cents
Jon
 
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