| Author | Message | ||
     Wayne Norris |
OK, here is what you have been waiting for.Aluminum gear legs that fit into the existing brackets,almost. I had these made and they fit fine, there is a tapered shim that fits on the TOP side of the gear in the box bracket, remember installing them at a 5 degree angle? The in board end fitting needs to be turned to match the gear face, this means removing 3 bolts, fill and re drill the holes, easer to do before you install the wings.Plumb the axle location down to the same spot as the glass gear, then drill the bolt holes for the inboard fittings through the gear. These legs are 5" longer so you can attatch the axles where you want, and cut off the ends. We'll have a flight test report next month. | ||
| Tom R. Hutchison (Tomhutch) |
The following was posted for Wayne Norris The cowling fit really put me behind, I had to cut it fwd/aft to widen the front, re-shap the spinner fit make exhaust shoots and a scoop. Now maybe I can get it in the air next month. The new main gear looks like it will work. Wayne    | ||
| Phil & Margie Hodge (N410mp) |
She FLIES! Again. Dora is all back together, and flies at least as good as before. I haven't started on my research program yet, got to get caught up at work first. Interesting coincidence - received my Avemco renewal notice and quotation yesterday. Went up 38%, to $5671, but in light of recent events and the wonderful service they've given me so far (of course I haven't submitted my final bill yet), I will very happily renew. | ||
| gsjostrand |
Fellow builders, Russ Porterfield in Clear Lake, California is having trouble with nose wheel shimmy (vibration) on landing. He has checked everything he knows to check and still has the problem. Feed back from anyone else having had the problem would be appreciated. Or, if you have a suggestion, you might help with some input. Please post here and direct the response to Russ @ russp@konocti.net. Thanks. | ||
| Phil & Margie Hodge (N410mp) |
Tire pressure and torque on the nose gear spindle nut both affect shimmy. By playing with both of those I've been able to eliminate any shimmy, at least for now. I don't have my nose gear pant or fairing on yet, so that may change things. Phil | ||
| Jerry Sjostrand |
Fellow Builders Regarding the nose wheel problem on Russ Porterfield's Express: He took my advice and increased the torque on the the spindle retainer nut. He called me this morning and said that took care of the problem. Great!!!! However, I would like those of you who are reading the forum page and still building to understand something I had to learn when building my Express. The documentation and design information that I had acquired on castering (trailing) nose wheels was as follows: The axle position should trail in a negative attitude compared to the yoke. In other words, when the wheel turns it should put a lifting force on the nose of the aircraft thereby causing a natural castering (under weight) to want to return to "straight". If this is reversed, you might well imagine that it would do the opposite and it does. The design documentation called for "0" degrees (level) to as much as "4" degrees negative. When the force is reversed, the nose drops as you turn, the wheel assembly will fight returning to "straight position" because of the nose weight. Mine is between 1 and 2 degrees negative. I keep the torque up on the spindle nut (it takes about 15 to 20 lbs of pull on the rear of the fairing to move it) and I have not had a problem. When Russ talked to the Express factory and was given some information regarding the tension on the nose wheel yoke, it appears that, at least on his Express, it was not sufficient to stabilize the nosewheel castering action. So be aware of the potential problem. Any further questions or input, please contact me or post on the forum page. Cheers, Jerry Sjostrand: N360EZ/CT | ||
| Kevin Dennes (Kdennes) |
Jerry. That is a most valuable input and I appreciate it very much. I was about to send off some photographs to Larry (and still may) to show the angle of the spindle to the floor (water line). I knew that a little adjustment would be taken up when the weight of the aircraft is put on the nose wheel but it would not be enough to get the spindle vertical to the water line. Now I know why. Thank you. Regards. Kevin (from 'Downunder') | ||
| Jerry Sjostrand |
Fellow builders (again) I forgot to mention a very important part of setting up the nose gear position and the nose fairing. Be sure to have the airplane on the main gears and loaded to an average weight (typical landing weight) before establishing the nose yoke position. The same goes for the nose wheel fairing. I have seen some badly installed nose wheel fairings because they were probably built before fitting them to the airplane in its normal attitude. This really has nothing to do with the "water line", it has to do with looks (relative to the main gear fairings and the airplane lines, etc.), function, and flying stability. Just to mention how important the position of the strut fairing is, one of our builders put an electric actuator on his strut fairing in order to use it as a "trim device". The point being, if the fairing is not lined up with the centerline of the aircraft when installed, it can cause the airplane to "crab" as it would with an improperly set rudder trim tab or excess rudder pressure. It becomes a "fixed" trim tab. Happy building and keep up the forum dialogue. There is a lot to be shared here. Anyone having other thoughts or comments, please post them or contact me. Cheers (again) Jerry Sjostrand | ||
| paul mikaelsen (Pmikaelsen) |
Has any one used or know where I could get an inflatable door seal for the single entry Express. | ||
| Bob Gisburne (Gisburne) |
Paul: I would advise against an inflatable seal. I had one is a Bonanza and it was a pain to work and maintain. I have a single door S-90 conversion from an EDI kit. The door to fuselage fit was TERRIBLE from the factory. I lived with it for awhile, using BIGGER bulb seals, until Jerry Sjostrand arrived one day. I think he literally spent a week with a heat gun, bulb seals of various configs, aluminium tape, bondo and LOTS of patience. The result is a WELL sealed door that is EASY to close, latch and lock. I would try that before I went to an inflatable seal. Additionally, I would check your hinge and latch mechanism. The ones provided by EDI were inferior in my opinion. I modified some Glasair hardware and it works very well. Keep in mind that there is positive pressure pushing the door OUT during flight. At least in my airplane. Jerry can weigh in on the mods he performed on my door, but the results are WONDERFUL! Thanks, Bob Gisburne N4382A |