Nose Gear SB

[akarmy]

Ok, here is how the upgrade went for me. I was lucky and had a friend that was driving down to Portland to take our gear legs and get them shortened. With this opportunity I jumped on it and pulled the leg. It was easy to remove the leg by simply jacking the plane to get the nose off the ground. I used some blocks and a tiedown strap to lift the nose off the ground.

The main challenge in this project was getting the parts from Van's. The new nose fork took about a month to arrive. It fit perfectly and the upgrade overall was an easy task. Not sure if it's necessary, but it seems like it will help if I ever get into a hole with the nose gear. Of course it flys just the same and you can't tell any difference after the upgrade.

 

[Geico266]

Your floor is way too clean.

Good thread.

 

[N79PT]

Andy, thanks for the write up. How difficult was it getting your old wheel pant to fit the new fork?

 

[kevinh]

Andy, thanks for the write up. How difficult was it getting your old wheel pant to fit the new fork?

My old pant just fit - no changes needed. I was worried about this at first, but now I don't even see how the old fork could fit in the pant without the new one also fitting without change.

 

[akarmy]

Andy, thanks for the write up. How difficult was it getting your old wheel pant to fit the new fork?

It just bolted into place with no effort at all. Quite nice that they perfectly matched all the geometry to make this an easy upgrade. It was strange that when going out for the first time down the taxiway I had this distinct feeling that the nose was a tad higher... of course I don't think it is, but it was messing with my brain!

 

[IBPJ]

Van's is getting them out of the shop much quicker now. They received mine on a Monday and I got the leg the following Monday and fork on Tuesday. I had asked for three day shipping. The new brackets work great for the wheel fairings. Worth the money and effort. Nice write up. Easy install. PJ

 

[akarmy]

The new brackets work great for the wheel fairings. Worth the money and effort. Easy install. PJ

That's another thing I was going to mention. Notice in the pictures how I simply used the original (5 year old) bracket on the axle. I put 4 #8 platenuts on it and simply screw the pant to the bracket as clearly seen on the outside shot. This has worked perfectly for the last 500 hours. You simply spread the front of the pant a bit to slide it over the ears of the bracket. It's held in place by the allen cap head screw up front and the screws and washers into the pant.

 

[aeronut67]

nose gear sb

Hey guys,
I'm a little behind the curve on this sb. I,m spending a lot of time building and not enough time reading. I just flipped my fuse and am expecting my finishing kit this week. Is the nose gear coming in need of this mod or, as I'm hoping, is it a new design in need of no mod??

 

[scard]

Hey guys,
I'm a little behind the curve on this sb. I,m spending a lot of time building and not enough time reading. I just flipped my fuse and am expecting my finishing kit this week. Is the nose gear coming in need of this mod or, as I'm hoping, is it a new design in need of no mod??

It will be the new style. No need for mod. Assuming your finish kit is coming direct from Vans.

 

[aeronut67]

nose gear sb

Thanks. and yes, Its coming from Vans.