I moved my axle back 5",the new down tubes are attached to the motor mount plates
on the mast,if the engine is still mounted then you will need a close angle drill to drill the
3/8" hole near the bottom of the plates,use heim fittings to attach the down tubes
I used 1" tubing with a .125" wall thickness,and I ordered a piece of 3/4"
solid aluminium to make the new inserts at the top of the tubes,these are from AC spruce
I now have more than 500 hrs on my mod without any problems.
I am in the process of installing my 2.5 turbo engine mod on a friends RAF and the first
thing I did was move the gear back. Before I moved my gear back it was just a matter of
time before I flipped over on takeoff,after 200 RPM's are reached on the rotor things
happen really fast on takeoff with 230 HP,having the nose wheel come back in contact
with the runway after it lifted off was not a desirable feature to have. My landings are still
the same as before,I can still set the tail wheel first, land and keep the nose wheel off of
the runway until completely stopped.
In the picture of your RAF it looks like your mast is moved as far aft as possible,even
with the heavier DOHC 2.5 my mast position is as far forward as it will go,and I fly level
when in the air and my cyclic is centered in a mid position.I weigh 178 lbs,when two are
on board lifting the nose on takeoff requires a little more aft cyclic,however in the air a
very slight nose up trim is all that is needed for level flight.
Beat regards,