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Attn: Harmon owners

pierre smith

pierre smith

Well Known Member
Guys, a friend of mine is looking at a couple of Harmon Rockets to buy and asked me if they have stiffer gear legs because of the added nose weight.

Same question applies to Super -6 and Super -7 owners.

TIA,
 
Pierre,

The HRIIs and my S-6 have Harmon Titanium struts. They are longer for more clearance for the longer props on the 540s. I've actually found them to be a bit more forgiving than stock RV struts. Not spongy or springy, but just a bit more forgiving...or "absorbative", if you will. It's not a major difference from RVs in feel, but slightly noticible. I've found this to be a bit more apparent in the HRIIs I've flown...ever so slightly. Mark's F1 felt very similar to my plane and the HRs I've flown. I would not call them stiff legged, though you can bounce them just like an RV if you drop it in or drive it on to soon...Rockets and RVs don't feel all that different there. Rockets and Supers feel good 3-pointing or wheel landing, whereas 8s seem to like wheelies, and 4s seem to prefer 3-pointing (and that is just a personal assessment from a little time in each, and some discussions with others...and probably a bit of hamfisting on my part too! ;))

Paul Dye just flew my plane, so he may be able to comment on the comparison as well. Smoky, Mark, Tom Martin and other RV/Rocket repeat offenders will be resources as well.

There is a Rocket for sale at Stead, if your buddy is looking for more prospects!

Cheers,
Bob
 
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I didn't find anythign I didn't like about the gear on Bob's plane Pierre - I followed my normal checkout procedure of greasing the first landing and then bobbling my second (the forty degree crosswing gusting to 22 might have had something to do with the second....), but the gear seemed to handle it well and didn't want to relaunch me after touchdown. I like that in a landing gear.

Paul
 
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A friend that built a Super 6 originally had Harmon legs installed, later changed over to F-1 legs after one of the original got bent on a ground loop. I seem to remember him mentioning the F-1 legs being slightly bigger in diameter and had the impression that the F-1 legs feel slightly firmer than the old Harmons.

I've not flown but have taxi'd another friend's HRII around the airport a number of times & felt the Harmon had much more of a wobbly feel compared to all the RVs I've flown & taxi'd, but I attribute this loose feel more to the extra weight of the Rocket & the longer legs.
 
rvmills said:
Pierre,

The HRIIs and my S-6 have Harmon Titanium struts. They are longer for more clearance for the longer props on the 540s. I've actually found them to be a bit more forgiving than stock RV struts. Not spongy or springy, but just a bit more forgiving...or "absorbative", if you will. It's not a major difference from RVs in feel, but slightly noticible. I've found this to be a bit more apparent in the HRIIs I've flown...ever so slightly. Mark's F1 felt very similar to my plane and the HRs I've flown. I would not call them stiff legged, though you can bounce them just like an RV if you drop it in or drive it on to soon...Rockets and RVs don't feel all that different there. Rockets and Supers feel good 3-pointing or wheel landing, whereas 8s seem to like wheelies, and 4s seem to prefer 3-pointing (and that is just a personal assessment from a little time in each, and some discussions with others...and probably a bit of hamfisting on my part too! ;))

Paul Dye just flew my plane, so he may be able to comment on the comparison as well. Smoky, Mark, Tom Martin and other RV/Rocket repeat offenders will be resources as well.

There is a Rocket for sale at Stead, if your buddy is looking for more prospects!

Cheers,
Bob
Click to expand...

I beg to differ :D
 
Keep in mind that there are at least 3 different HRII gear geometries. The earliest is the "wide" gear which I've found to be quite soft. Later models pulled the tires in closer together which helps to stiffen it up some. I can say that going from the truck like -8 to the relatively soft Rocket takes some getting used to, but like everything else, you adapt. I am still firmly of the opinion that Rockets require more care on landing to avoid a prop strike. I treat every landing like the gear legs are made of fine porcelain - and if I do bounce more than a couple inches, it's an automatic go around.
 
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