Fiberglass Landing gear ... ?

[rsbiser]

Hi All,
I need some help.
I happened to acquire the Pink Honey Bee G2 that may be the loan survivor of the whole G2 rise and fall.

I got it without an N number so I have torn it completely down and will rebuild it. (BTW - It won't end up being pink!!!)

Unfortunately, on the way home from picking it up, we had the machine in a trailer with the landing gear in a "compromised" position. Long story ... but when we hit a very serious pot hole (my head hit the ceiling of the truck), the result was a busted main gear.

For those who don't remember, the only suspension on the G2's was a length of 1.5 inch fiberglass rod between the main horizontal gear tube and the axle. In this case, about 8 inches of the rod is exposed and becomes the "flexible" part of the gear.

That rod broke when we hit the pothole from hell.

So ... my question is this ...
Does anyone out there know what they used for that rod? I need to replace it but I don't really know what I'm looking for. I've found a 1.5 inch diameter FRP Fiberglass rod but I have no idea whether it's the right stuff. Is it strong enough? Is it flexible enough to serve the purpose, etc?

Anyone got any ideas?

Thanks,

Scott

 

[Kevin_Richey]

Scott: The powered parachute manufacturers used this type of axle, relying on the flexibility of that rod to cushion landings. I had a Buckeye PPC airframe.

Reading in their forums years back, if a landing causes a "crack" sound, they found they could rotate the rod 90*, re-drill new holes in the rod for the wheel assembly, and still continue to use it, waiting for another "crack" sound to then discard it & replace w/ a new one.

 

[Jazzenjohn]

I'm fairly sure it is the plain 1 1/2" solid structural FRP rod from Mcmaster.com $73 for 5 feet. Honeybee used to use 1" solid rod in earlier versions, but it suffered from creep where it would eventually sag down under the weight over time.

 

[rsbiser]

I'm fairly sure it is the plain 1 1/2" solid structural FRP rod from Mcmaster.com $73 for 5 feet. Honeybee used to use 1" solid rod in earlier versions, but it suffered from creep where it would eventually sag down under the weight over time.

Thanks John.
I had looked at that before and was not sure it was the right stuff.
But since I thought it was and now you think it is, I'm willing to pull the trigger.

Appreciate the help.

 

[rsbiser]

Scott: The powered parachute manufacturers used this type of axle, relying on the flexibility of that rod to cushion landings. I had a Buckeye PPC airframe.

Reading in their forums years back, if a landing causes a "crack" sound, they found they could rotate the rod 90*, re-drill new holes in the rod for the wheel assembly, and still continue to use it, waiting for another "crack" sound to then discard it & replace w/ a new one.

Kevin,
That's interesting. But what if you have a noisy engine and rotor noise and a noise cancelling headset on ... and don't hear the "Crack"?!?!
Yikes!!!

 

[scottessex]

Check out Max Gain...fiberglass antenna poles and ultralight aircraft fiberglass rod.
Just paint it black for UV protection. the picture shows tube, but the link is for rod.

Ultralight Aircraft & PPC - Max-Gain Systems, Inc.

Fiberglass Rod for Landing Gear

mgs4u.com

 

[Jazzenjohn]

I think I'd change my answer to Max Gain instead of Mcmaster. I did make a gyro that used the 2" square pultruded fiberglass tubing for the landing gear from Max Gain several years ago.

 

[rsbiser]

I think I'd change my answer to Max Gain instead of Mcmaster. I did make a gyro that used the 2" square pultruded fiberglass tubing for the landing gear from Max Gain several years ago.

Oops!
looked at the Max Gain. Product looked basically the same but came in either 4 or 6 foot lengths. 4 not enough for two and 6 not enough for 3.
Went with the McMaster 5 footer.
Thanks,
Scott

 

[Brian Jackson]

Hi Scott.

Are you planning to do any mods to the airframe? I don't recall the particulars at the moment, but I seem to remember there were issues with the design in its current configuration.

On a funnier note, I was hoping you would add a third text bubble pointing to the paint to make a nice Clint Eastwood movie reference

 

[rsbiser]

Hi Scott.

Are you planning to do any mods to the airframe? I don't recall the particulars at the moment, but I seem to remember there were issues with the design in its current configuration.

On a funnier note, I was hoping you would add a third text bubble pointing to the paint to make a nice Clint Eastwood movie reference

Brian,
Yes.
I have at least one significant mod planned. While I have seen videos of the machine flying, I am a little concerned that it is a high thrust line machine. So, I plan to lower the rear keel about 6 inches to allow me to turn the gearbox 180 degrees and hence lower the thrust line by 6 inches. A few other things may show up, but not sure yet.

This what you were talking about?

 

[Brian Jackson]

...This what you were talking about?

View attachment 1146068

Yup! Leaving satisfied