9A front gear revisited
That was my 9A that bent the nose gear last summer. I was ON THE RUNWAY, slowing down. The front wheel was also on the runway but as I crossed an intersecting runway, the front wheel tracked a different direction.
The front wheel then knuckled under and continued to bend till we slid to a stop. I used directional braking to keep us in the center of the runway. No injuries to me or the wife but there were lots of injuries to my favorite project. Two months of work followed, 7 days per week & $7,200 for a new crankshaft (even though the engine was at idle the crank bent), prop repair and lots more, and the bird was back in the air. I’ve added 62 hours since then.
FYI, I had the new style landing gear. Hardness was checked on the old gear and it met the spec. The next two photos should break your heart.
The tire had NO scuff marks on it whatsoever. The wheel simply turned to the side and bent over.
Other people may be more adventuresome than I am, but here are my NEW RULES for this airplane:
1) Breakout is checked frequently or should I say constantly. It’s at the prescribed number or higher. Every time the tow bar is used, I am manually sensing break out force plus I check it with the spring device.
2) Front wheel pressure is ALWAYS 30lbs. An under inflated tire adds drag to a system which (IMO) is woefully inadequate.
3) There is a steel spacer inside the front wheel to insure the bearing races remain apart. The front wheel spins freely.
4) On takeoff, the front wheel leaves the ground as soon as possible. On landing, it comes down as late as possible. Observe the “1.3 over stall” rule, add speed for gusts, but no more than absolutely required. Let the wing slow the airplane, I can land without using brakes 90% of the time. If the winds are too strong, go somewhere else or don’t leave the ground. GET-HOME-ITIS is as dumb as running out of fuel.
5) Taxi very slowly. My buddy Chet video taped the oscillation of the front gear (fore and aft) & it’s downright scary. Taxiing fast on a rough surface is nuts.
6) NEVER fly without the front wheel pant installed. Increase the layers of fiberglass at the bottom of the front wheel pant so it can serve as a skid plate should the front wheel track a ground imperfection or get stuck in a hole. Better for the front pant to give its life than break the airplane.
7) Personally, I will NEVER land or takeoff from a dirt/grass strip. The first time I land on grass will be because the engine croaked. If the mission changes, so will the choice of airplane.
Everything in life has trade offs. I accept these self imposed limitations but on the flip side, I flew home yesterday & observed 152kts groundspeed at 6.9 gph on autogas.
That photo serves as my computer desktop image. It makes me smile every morning but also reminds me of the rules.
