cesphil

Sorry for the late response, my friend. Your PM must have been lost in my jumble of correspondence. This reply is in reference to the 5/8 " tube axle on the Doms. It didn't collapse or even deform, but what was noticable was the change in camber of the main gear, the bottom of the wheels being closer to each other than the top. At first, I suspected my piloting skills on landing (part of the equation) but after trailering to El Mirage Flyin, my wife even noticed the wheels tilted in. This was souly due to side loads generated during traveling. After bending the axles back into proper alignment I felt that this tubing was somewhat delicate based on the effort I used to bend them. (area between inside brng and strut cluster weld). The grade 8 inserts resolved this issue with little cost and time. Ernie indicated they have had no problems. "They" may trailer very little and obviously are very proficient pilots.

Didn't have room in my other post for this, but wanted to interject another bit of info, based on my experience. It looks like the "axle" design has changed on the main gear. (Hard to see) If it still is a 5/8" Chrome Molly tube, I found that this is not substantial enough for typical trailering and the learning process over semi rough terrain. I epoxied a solid grade 8 dowel into each side that required a bit of tapping to set in place. Seems hell for strong now.

Preeetty! Love your shop too. You'll be pleased with your choice of projects. Just a note or two.

Your pictures were great and I noticed, in the interior of the pod, your vertical bracing for the nose pod. Where it attaches to the keel, it looks like the angle material has one side of the angle beveled off. (I might be mistaken) Please note that I did the same and at that point of connection, it broke because of the lateral forces during trailering and flight. When you get your instruments, etc in place, there is quite a moment created at this point. I replaced this brace with a beefed up design and no problems.


Hope this helps and good luck with your project. Keep us updated with your posts and if you have any questions feel free to PM me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSXv7F_nj6s