Gear leg is not the problem
In my opinion the problem with the nose gear collapse and/or nose over accidents are not due to an inefficiency of the nose gear leg. Instead it is due to the fact that the leading link yoke/fork is too (
that is t double ooooo) close to the ground. The gear leg is designed to flex. That is the only shock absorbing quality of the current design. When that yoke that is sitting too (
again with that t double ooooo) close to the ground has an opportunity to come into contact with some stationary obstacle, such as the ground, because of whatever reason, lets say. . .
Pilot error (click)
Pilot error (click)
Pilot error (click)
. . .the nut at the bottom of the yoke, that just happens to be the closest thing to the ground, digs into whatever it comes into contact with. If the force is big enough this is transferred up the gear leg. The gear leg will then fail at the weakest point (which usually happens to be at that tapered point part way up the leg).
It is my opinion then that the close proximity of the leading yoke to the ground is the true culprit. Too (
dad blast those t double oooo's) much flex from a rough surface, too (
hmmmm) much speed at taxi over said rough surface or some other various form of
Pilot error (click)
Pilot error (click)
Pilot error (click)
and the nut digs into the said rough surface.
The solution seems to be to get that ridiculously low slung leading link yoke/fork higher up off of the ground and put a larger tire under all that metal to allow for an opportunity to roll over any hole rather than sink into it. Now most speed demons are opposed to that because it will mean placing more surface into the air stream thus inducing more drag. For those with this speed requirement I say stay with the current design.
LONG LIVE THE KING OF SPEED!
However, for any others like me who find that giving up 1 or 2 (h, e double hockey sticks, I'll even give up 3) knots is a welcome compromise to mitigate some of this nose over risk, lets look at this solution. Moving the yoke further away from the ground and putting a larger tire under there is going to solve a lot of these issues.
Oh yeah, I forgot the other part. Just like those disclaimers for diets that say things like
"results for our super duper diet pill work best when used along with proper nutrition and regular exercise", pilot technique is always going to be the ultimate key to avoiding these accidents. Just like popping pills without exercise will not melt the pounds off, "fixing" this yoke without proper pilot technique is not going to do much either. I would like to hope this solution will go a long way toward reducing the risk of serious damage to my aircraft should I fail to be a good pilot on some inattentive occasion.
My .02 worth and a little comment on plans I intend to work with for my 9A.
Live Long and Prosper!