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Originally Posted by tobinbasford
For those keeping count, another "a" model flipped over yesterday while landing at the fly-in at Reklaw. I believe it was a 7a. I didn't see it happen but saw the plane after it happend. Hundreds of planes showed up, everything from cessnas, pipers, beech, Rv's, etc. The strip is kinda rough towards the north end. Other "a" models landed there without trouble. Not sure who it was, but I think they're ok.
Tobin
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I know Van's position on this topic: it's all about pilot technique. I think, however, there is some anecdotal evidence that the A's are prone to this problem.
I had a good look at a Grumman Cheetah today, which also uses a castering nosewheel. The gear is larger diameter, a presumably stronger. The gross weight of a Cheetah is higher than most of the A models.
What was substantially different, however, is that the top of the nose gear strut was hinged at the firewall attach point, and two small oleo struts were attached several inches below that point to provide support and shock absorbtion.
On a hard impact the strut is designed to absorb energy by collapsing vertically, with a minimum of backwards travel in the gear leg. This is in contrast to the Van's design that tends to tuck backwards on impact.
I believe that it is quite possible for Van's to build a similar system, and even make it retro-fittable to existing engine mounts. It would be heavier, of course, but the weight is ahead of the cg, which is beneficial.
I hope Van's is taking this issue seriously. I know with the RV-12 they are looking at a different system than they've used before. My hope is that they will put some energy into improving the existing design as well.
Vern Little
www.vx-aviation.com
The baggage door has proved to be a way out .. if you are skinny...
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