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500 x 5 nose wheel for 9A

N333M

Active Member
I had a bit of an episode this weekend, while taxing in from the grass at a pretty slow speed, and almost up to the ramp, I went thru a slight depression, almost a rut, and the nose gear nut drug on the upside of the depression, busted up my wheel pant..and..yup, you guessed it..bent my nose gear leg ..not bad, I didnt even know it till I got out at the gas pumps and saw the busted wheel pant, with the funny angle of the wheel telling me this was gonna be more expensive than a wheel faring.
So... I have been browseing for hours the "bent nose gear" posts, and my there are alot of them. I am about ready to call VAns and get a gear leg and a wheel pant on the way, Then call Allen and purchase some more of his Antisplat goodies. But, I keep thinking about Bevans post about the 500x5 tire on the front end of His 7,with the RV10 fork, and some of the others who have accomplished this treatment. Sure would be nice to have a better hole jumper on the front than the 11x400x5 skateboard wheel I think.
I noticed the Rv12A has a 500x 5 on its nose. Anyone here considered the 12 fork and looked into its possible fit on the 9A leg?
I cant seem to find the part number for the RV10 fork on Vans list either..has it changed since those older posts?
Id love to hear some opinions..
Thanks..
Don
 
I would suspect that even if the RV-12 nose gear would somehow fit, that it wasn't designed for the extra weight the RV-7 carries.

Bob
 
I should have mentioned, I have a 9A , 0-320, fixed pitch sensi.. empty weight 1030lbs
 
Sounds like a proven solution has been found (-10 fork), which would be designed for more weight than the -7A or -9A. Probably best to have this discussion with someone at Vans while ordering the new parts.
 
some of what I am trying to discern is how much will the stance be changed on the ground. Are larger mains necessary, or optional?..
IS VAns gonna give me trouble about making such a change?
are their any downsides to this..other than maybe a bit of speed loss at cruise.?
Id sure like to hear from anybody who has done this and how they like it..or dislike ..
 
My Rans S19 had identical nose gear design to the vans and it used a 500x5 nose wheel. The front fork was machined from a solid piece of aluminum and was a work of art. Don?t know if it would fit the 9 leg or not but my guess is that it would.

Also my experience with vans support is that they will refuse to give any help with any change from ?as designed?.
 
It Does seem the RV10 nose gear fork..to facilitate a bigger tire would be the best choice.
 
500x5

There are at least two and maybe three RV9a aircraft that fly out of KPRC (Prescott, AZ) who have converted to RV10 based nose gear fork, 500x5 tire, and RV10 nose wheel fairing. The stance is slightly higher in front and the fairing is obviously larger but if you are not aware of the mod you will not notice it. They also said there is an ever so slight speed penalty. Don't ask me what is involved in the change as I have not done it--just wanted to let you know it can and has been done.

Cheers,

db
 
Be real careful... The larger nose wheel increases, the bending moment on the nose leg and increases the probability your nose leg will bend. I would suggest it is not at all proven to make the situation "better". My view is a regular nose leg with an Anti-splat stiffener is the optimum configuration. I've been operating a 6A for 16 years with plenty of rough strips included.
Pete
 
I'm also curious about using the 12 fork and fairing on a 9A or 7A. I replaced the standard fork on my flying 12 with the new beefed up model to eliminate the inspections and to be more robust for training. I'm also now building a 7A. Comparison of the new 12 fork shows that it appears to be just as robust as the "new" 7A fork. This is unlike the original LSA lightweight version. I fitted all mine up in the 7A and my the nose wheel looks tiny compared to the 12. If it was a bolt on mod, I'd seriously consider switching to the 12 assembly and lose a few tenths of top speed.
 
I agree with the post above, the wheel isn't the problem the nose leg is.
Installing a larger wheel makes the bending force on the nose leg greater and makes it more likely to fail. Keep the regular wheel!
 
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