The plot thickens....
If you're needing as much as another 1-1/2", and elect to just accept
increased nose up while on the ground, there's another aspect that may
be relevant. Most S/E tri-gears sit noticeably nose up, and pix of
Europas seem to be approx. level. Ostensibly OK. But on landing, with
the nose gear hanging down further, the thing will need to be easy to
land nose well up or you wheelbarrow.
In my AA-5, that sits well nose up, it's not quite so. Just two extra
knots sets up a condition where the difference between ballooning and
properly lifting the nose in the flare is few micrograms of elevator
pressure (cause is a sharp-stalling, flat-bottom fuselage, the
designers say). Thus many accidents and broken nose gears in this
type. I just wax her often enough to be nice to me, lacking
aeronautical skills otherwise.
Perhaps others can comment on the good nose-high landing manners of
the type.
Regards,
Fred F., A063
> Actually my major premise was to live with short legs and mount the socket
> flush (creating a slight increase in the wing angle of attack during ground
> ops), but if that was not to be then slide the leg downward in the socket,
> which I no longer think is a good idea - I just removed a leg and noticed
> that the leg does not engage the socket for the whole length of the socket.
> There are just two lands at full diameter, one at each end of the socket, so
> if one were to slide the leg downwards 1-1/2 inches, the lower land would
> not even touch the bottom of the socket. Oops!
>
> The lot number on my legs is 050897. Perhaps there has since been a design
> change, but all of my earlier comments were predicated on the description in
> Rob Niels' OFF LINE copy to me of his message to Lakeland on the subject
> (Lakeland has yet to respond). A careful re-reading of that message leaves
> me wondering if I understood correctly but it sounded like (and still does,
> sort of) his gear legs have a tapered engagement to the socket (he discussed
> the possibility of fabricating split inserts to fill the gap between leg and
> socket), and your comments (below) also suggest it is tapered.
>
> Best regards,
>
> Rob Housman
> A070
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