Home made bagless airshock

gyrojake

Gyro Rehab Candidate
Joined
Jan 1, 2007
Messages
2,313
Location
E-City, Florida
Aircraft
Gyroplanes
Total Flight Time
A few hours
Came up with a bagless spring assist airshock.
Looks like my normal front end but will take on air to make the front end accept either more weight or different field applications.

The front end will stand alone with 65lbs of weight on the nose wheel.
With 50lbs of air it will support 100lbs on the nose wheel.
With 100lbs of air it will support 235lbs on the nose wheel.

The shock is set for a 40 percent damper going up and a 60 percent damper going down.

The filler valve is in the keel and is hard to damage or hit by accident.

The shock has a two inch stroke and is progressive.

I'm also going to make a set for my main gear.
 
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That is too cool Jake! Way to go.
Does it seal with O rings? some kind of cap seal?
 
Jake,

You are truly an engineer. Always amazed by your work. Hope the main gear deal works out. It looks great.
 
Thanks guys!
Yes, it is sealed with O-rings and teflon followers.
The valve is a ball that restricts the flow of oil through different ports machined in the main body.

Yes sir Mike , the brakes are hydraulic and set up to be used by the heel.Thanks for the complement.

Waiting for my tires and tubes. Once they get here I'll mount the engine and break it in.
Once I break the engine in then comes, finish the rudder pedal assembly and cables,put the tail on and of course the beautifull flat black finish.

Should be twistin up some air pretty soon!!

~~JAKE~~
 
What engine Jake? The MZ?
Or do you have a super secret power plant? :D
 
What engine Jake? The MZ?
Or do you have a super secret power plant? :D

Well I was thinking about letting OBAMA sit on the motor mount, as much smoke as he blows out his A$$ I should have plenty of power!!!

I've got a zero hour 2703 I was thinking of using. I think with the proper care it should work fine. The MZ is on hold with starter problems. I'm not spending $300 on a starter. My Benz starter doesn't even cost that much!!

~~JAKE~~
 
Jake, I thought about using one fork tube, and leg from a suitable dirtbike, in the same manner you have. Would benifit from the spring, oil, and air elements already in place. Then I remembered, words of wisdom from Lee Scatt, "you don't need suspension man, you flyin off blacktop". He was always pullin the reigns in, "keep it simple". Yours seems an elegant compromise.
 
Jake, I thought about using one fork tube, and leg from a suitable dirtbike, in the same manner you have. Would benifit from the spring, oil, and air elements already in place. Then I remembered, words of wisdom from Lee Scatt, "you don't need suspension man, you flyin off blacktop". He was always pullin the reigns in, "keep it simple". Yours seems an elegant compromise.

I use plenty of ruff grass feilds so suspension is a must.

The motorcyle front end is good but they are not made to turn so you would have to modify it so it won't unscrew inside on left turns.

~~JAKE~~
 
Wow

Wow

That really is incredible. You must have found some good herb to come up with that one......you are quite the astral engineer. Should be another winner at BD 2011. :first:
 
Wait...WHAT?

I've only taken one apart and it had a bolt in the bottom that holds the tube in the body. I had to clamp the tube to unscrew the bolt to take it apart.The nut floats in the tube and alows it to go up and down. That scared me!!
 
Jake, you MUST have been reading my mind! I swear!

I read about how to make a pneumatic jack for my car when I was into racing. It is not as elegant as this, with the variable porting, it is much simpler, but the basic idea is the same. You take two tubes of aluminum, one fits inside the other, you groove them and add the O-ring, weld the end caps on and insert an air chuck. Attach to the bottom of the car. When you pit, you simply stick theair hose on like you would fill up a tire, and BAM! the car is off the gorund and the tires get changed. Pretty slick.

I was thinking about making my own airshocks in this manner, and you have beat me to the punch. Very cool!
 
I like.... a lot.

Some applications probably should consider using dry nitrogen instead of compressed air. Front wheel of a gyro would never generate a pressure spike high enough to be a problem but others applications might. Just a thought.
 
Beauty!

I also like the heel brakes. The whole front-end is an art form.
 
Beauty!

I also like the heel brakes. The whole front-end is an art form.

Here are some pics of the finished front end less cables. Here are some pics of the controll system,needs bead blasting and paint.

Oh by the way THANKS JON !!

~~JAKE~~
 
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