The long awaited trailer has arrived. Since I'm in the midst of painting, it
was just unpacked and stored for now. This is the Mk 2 trailer, made of
galvanized steel. A leading edge product, it immediately became bleeding edge
when I cut myself on a sharp edge while unpacking.
The spar receptacles on the Mk 2 are hinged so they can be opened for removal
of the spar. The closing mechanism is the over-center type clasp sometimes
used on toolboxes; as delivered, the heavy wire bail on this mechanism was
missing and was found loose in the bottom of the box. Since they look like
large staples of the type used to hold heavy boxes together, stay alert to
avoid discarding them.
There were no real trailer assembly directions, just a couple of drawings
which were not as detailed as those for the original trailer. I guess the
idea is that if you can assemble the airplane, the trailer should be a
no-brainer.
Of course, as a no-brainer, I have a couple of questions. The pieces which
lock the tailwheel down need holes drilled for mounting. Should they be
positioned so that the tailwheel axle is away from the slot end so the
tailwheel can move a bit as the LG flexes due to bumps? That is, I expect
the wheel base to modulate a bit but don't know how much to allow...
Second, where does the 4 foot board with the lights mount? There is a bar
(handle?) welded across the movable part of the LG capture mechanism to which
a bracket is pinned; the light board could be secured to it but there are no
holes drilled in it as a hint. If the bar does mount there it will have to
be removed&replaced each time the trailer is used? Easier than mounting it
in place of the prop, I guess. Since it will be tethered to the trailer by
the wiring it seems like it will be a nuisance in practice.
Neither the light bar nor the tailwheel brackets are shown in the drawings.
Here's to experimental trailering.
John A044
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