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Grove landing gear for RV-8

John Vick

I'm New Here
Just starting an RV 8 quick build and considering using the Grove Airfoil Gear. I would appreciate any feed back for those that have installed this landing gear.
 
All good

Looks great, weighs a lot less, saves a lot of work, bound to be stronger----what is not to like? Oh yeah--the price.....For once you get what you pay for!!!!! Go for it.
 
Grove

The Grove is better. Easer to line up. Les work, no farings. Get them, lighter too.
 
Just finished with the trial installation of my Grove airfoil gear legs. All went well and the legs are a metal work of art...

As noted, past posts have discussed this extensively, but be aware that you have to modify the stock gear covers due to the thickness of the gear (cover is shortened on the outboard end). The opening in the fuse will also have to be enlarged for the outboard clamps...try to make this opening as small as possible to allow the outboard gear cover nutplates to remain.

It wasn't easy for me to use the plans alignment method, so I used the parallel al angle method as described by Ironflight, I believe (bolt 4' h/w store angle to gear at alxe, maintain same distance between ends of angles fore and aft for 0 degree toein).

And don't forget to return your Van's legs and h/w bag for credit. You will still need 8 AN4-7A's plus nuts and washers and possibly some other minor h/w.

Deene Ogden
RV8QB
 
<<Just finished with the trial installation of my Grove airfoil gear legs.>>

As it happens, so did I.

<<I used the parallel al angle method as described by Ironflight>>

Me too, worked fine. Don't forget to establish identical distance from a reference on each leg to the tailwheel pivot. Even safety wire is a little bit stretchy; I pulled mine with a fish scale to 4 lbs.

The Van's instructions have you tighten the inboard AN7, snug initially, and later torqued as some sort of clamp to hold things from moving while you drill the outboard 3/8" holes. Naaaaaa. In the first case, while doing all the preliminary lineup, cutting skin clearance etc, tightening the inboard AN7 may lift the leg up off the outboard wear plate. It needs to sit solidly on that plate to allow alignment in an accurate manner, so tighten the bolt just enough to get the slack out of things. As for tightening that AN7 as a clamp, there's a better way. Get the alignment spot on. Machine or buy a punch with a good 3/8" OD. Grind the tip with a well-centered low angle point (around 15 degrees or so), drop it in the hole, and whack it with your trusty 2lb shop hammer. Remove the hardware and you'll find a very good center punched mark to drill in steps, 3/32 then 3/16 then 3/8. You'll keep your alignment, no worries.

For those whose drill experience has not included big holes in 4130 steel, put aside the high speed air drill you use for aluminum. Buy or borrow a big slow speed electric drill with a 1/2 chuck, and get some new cobalt bits, not **** from the big box store. 4130 is easy to drill if it is in the normalized or annealed condition. That's not always the case after welding or machining, because 4130 is an air-hardening steel. If you heat it and then quench it (cool it quickly) it becomes very, very hard. So, if the fabricator didn't follow the rules and cooled the gear box weldment quickly, it will be hard to drill. More common is that the builder makes a mistake and tries to drill the weldment with a drill that turns too fast. Friction heats the 4130 under the tip of the bit. Stop drilling for just a second or two, and the surrounding cool metal instantly quenches the hot spot. When you start drilling again, you find that things have gotten very tough. You drill awhile, get tired and stop again...and uh-oh, repeat the process.

All of this is avoided (even if already quenched) by using new, sharp, hard bits and a very slow, powerful drill with lots of pressure. The weldments and wear blocks will drill like butter. Well, ok, maybe like aluminum <g>.
 
Seems like I've seen posts regarding difficulty in plumbing brake lines at the upper end of a line-drilled Grove leg. Probably true if you come through the floor skin at the spot shown on the plans, aft of the leg, since the Grove location for the AN822 is also on the aft side of the leg.

Instead I placed the bulkhead fitting on the other side, forward and just outboard of the pre-drilled tank vent hole. Plenty of clearance to run the line across the leg.



Bottom end:

 
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Looks nice and that U-bend will keep the fittings from getting any stress from flex or vibrations.

I just printed off this thread and placed it in my manual as I have these legs and will be mounting them in (hopefully) 18 mos. Bought my tail and some extras from a guy that changed his mind and he already had the Groves and I'm glad he did.

Nice tips in this thread.

Thanks
 
Brake lines

Dan, very good method! I'll have to use it on my next -8 :)

Here's how I did it, and I can confirm that it was pretty tight.

http://www.rv8.ch/article.php?story=20050328221707113

20050328221707113_4.JPG


Also, if you have not already seen this tip I got from another builder on the brake lines near the wheel, have a look:

http://www.rv8.ch/article.php?story=20050718203705756

This worked out very nicely.
 
I am considering the Grove gear for my RV-8 but am worried a bit about the aluminum material 'sagging' after several years of service, particularly considering my lousy piloting ability:rolleyes:

Has anyone experienced any permanent deformation of the grove gear over time?
Thanks
 
I was ordering the airfoiled Grove gear last November already, payed half the price on Grove?s request without delay and still don?t have the gear. I was delayed several times - last time to mid April on the phone and no answer to my e-mails. I don?t want to believe this is their usual customer treatment. Did anyone receive the gear recently??
 
I received mine a month ago

I ordered/received the one piece gear for the RV-8 and it ended up being about 2 months overdue from what I was told when I ordered. They did have a production delay due to the heat treating conductivity test machine (third party) being out for calibration. I appreciated the fact that they didn't rush anything thru the production process but was anxious to get the gear. Call the main number and talk to Gail - she will give you the latest status. She wasn't always available right away, but did do a good job communicating during the delays. They do a large volume of business, both experimental and certified and the delay put them behind. Not sure if you are being delayed by the same pipeline issues but Gail will be of help. Good luck. If it's any consolation, the gear is a beautiful piece of work. :)
 
Still Waiting

I ordered my airfoil RV-8 gear in late November and was told they would be ready to ship in March. I called mid-March and was told end of the month. I called April 6 and was told 2 weeks due to heat treat issue mentioned above. I still don't have the gear.

I just got off the phone with Grove and they confirmed the gear are back from heat treat and they are just trying to get everything out from the back log. I think they are prioritizing by need, so if you have an urgent need calling them would probably help.
 
I am considering the Grove gear for my RV-8 but am worried a bit about the aluminum material 'sagging' after several years of service, particularly considering my lousy piloting ability:rolleyes:

Has anyone experienced any permanent deformation of the grove gear over time?
Thanks

If your gear is sagging, it's not a material failure! :D

I have the airfoil gear and was suspect at first, as after the first annual it took quite a bit to retorque the bolts. Second annual and a lot more abuse later, there was almost no wear. I would definitely recommend, but not because the stock gear is flawed in any way.
 
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I ordered my airfoil RV-8 gear in late November and was told they would be ready to ship in March. I called mid-March and was told end of the month. I called April 6 and was told 2 weeks due to heat treat issue mentioned above. I still don't have the gear.

I just got off the phone with Grove and they confirmed the gear are back from heat treat and they are just trying to get everything out from the back log. I think they are prioritizing by need, so if you have an urgent need calling them would probably help.

This is pretty much the same thing I got.
Ordered early December. Told to expect them in the February March time frame. Emailed them early April with no response. Following week I called and was told mine were out for heat treat and it would be a couple weeks until shipping. They did ask if I was held up so they may very well be shifting order positions around to help those who are stuck.
The second I lifted my stock gear legs out of the crate I knew I would be ordering the Grove alloy gear.
 
I keep thinking about giving them a call to check up again on the status of my gear, since it's been about six weeks or so now since I last got an update. But realistically, I'm just getting started on my fuselage and it'll be quite a while before I need the legs, so I'm in no hurry at all. So I keep talking myself out of actually making the call.
 
In reference to RV-8 tail draggers already flying with stock Vans spring steel gear.

Have any of you experienced changing out the stock Vans gear for the Grove gear?

I would like you hear of your experience. This is something I am considering but am having difficulty justifying.
 
Odd Question

I am considering the Grove gear for my RV-8 but am worried a bit about the aluminum material 'sagging' after several years of service, particularly considering my lousy piloting ability:rolleyes:

Has anyone experienced any permanent deformation of the grove gear over time?
Thanks

You know, this is really an odd question when you think about it. Do you worry about your aluminum wings (and spar) sagging or bowing over time? How about aluminum propellor blades? Or the aluminum tail? Or fuselage? There's nothing inherently different about aluminum gear legs. If they are properly designed to take the loads applied to them, and operated within those parameters, they will not deform over time.

Skylor
RV-8
(With Grove Non-Airfoil Gear...that haven't sagged yet, in 400 hours)
 
When we built my friend's RV-8 we seriously considered the Grove gear, as it is indeed a premium upgrade option, but decided to build on with the stock Van's main gear. Don't discount the stock gear too much, it is a very capable main gear for this plane. There have been times when we 2nd-guessed the decision to have used the stock gear but have been overall satisfied with the decision in the long run. The Grove gear option is a more premium option if you have the extra money and patience for delivery time but the stock steel gear does work pretty good as intended.
 
Grove gear

I originally planned Grove Airfoil Gear and deleted the gear legs from the fuselage kit . I was on the waiting list for months then a set of stock legs came up on VAF for $100 . It was a no brainer at that point .
Looking at finished 8's I would use the stock legs or the Non Airfoil legs and Vans fairings . In my opinion the Airfoil Gear look a little out of scale compared to faired legs .
 
In reference to RV-8 tail draggers already flying with stock Vans spring steel gear.

Have any of you experienced changing out the stock Vans gear for the Grove gear?

I would like you hear of your experience. This is something I am considering but am having difficulty justifying.

My project was originally fit with stock gear, but I decided to switch prior to final assembly. I was concerned over the Groves lining up exactly like the stock gear did....but it wasn't an issue. YMMV
 
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