nose wheel strength

[WISDAN]

I talked to an FAA inspector ( Milwaukee FSDO ) today and he informed he once saw a nose gear that had bend on landing causing a crash on a model 4 1200. Does anyone else have any experiance or have heard of any issues on this?

Thanks

Dan G.

[SkySteve]

I suppose if you land on the nose wheel it could bend, but you should be landing on the main gear, holding the nose up and gently flying the nose to the ground as you lose lift, not letting it drop to the ground.

[DanB]

Steve, I happen to working on doing this very thing. It is taking a little practice to know when I can hold back on the stick ( and not fly again) to keep the front wheel from coming down and hitting. It is not really an issue in calm weather with flaps and feathering it in. The trick is when it is windy and I need to come in a little hot. Just learning the characteristics of this little Fox.
Having a blast though

[WISDAN]

I know what you guys are saying and i agree the nose wheel needs to be held of the runway and lowered as soft as possible as with any airplane. Just wondering why the FAA thought this nose gear was weaker than others.

[SkySteve]

I didn't read anything in your post saying the FAA said the Kitfox nose wheel was weaker than other planes. I read that ONE FAA guy stated he had seen ONE bent. Which is it?

[Dave S]

I am not so sure that the observation "once saw a nose gear that had bend on landing" is particularily noteworthy....For the record; for every model of light aircraft with a nose gear - someone has found a way to bend it.

One Service bulletin to check:

http://www.kitfoxaircraft.com/suppor...etins/sb55.htm

Some time ago (like about 2001) there was some scuttlebutt about cracks showing up on the nosegear strut of earlier models - check out the SB for your information.

This does not seem to be a big issue; however the nose gear strut was apparently modified/strengthened at one point.

It is important to note that the cracks observed appear to be associated with certain earlier nosegears; and, in conjunction with the use of heavy engines and excessive operational loading of the nosegear.

I'd check the SB and then not worry about it if the plane does not have earlier version of nosegear.

Sincerely,

Dave S

[DanB]

I know what you guys are saying and i agree the nose wheel needs to be held of the runway and lowered as soft as possible as with any airplane. Just wondering why the FAA thought this nose gear was weaker than others.

Not sure what the circumstances were there, however, I do know that the first nose wheel gears sold for the IV are less stout than what is now sold. The front gear was beefed up for the model V and up and the IV was re-engineered a few years back.

[SkySteve]

Steve, I happen to working on doing this very thing. It is taking a little practice to know when I can hold back on the stick ( and not fly again) to keep the front wheel from coming down and hitting. It is not really an issue in calm weather with flaps and feathering it in. The trick is when it is windy and I need to come in a little hot. Just learning the characteristics of this little Fox.
Having a blast though

Dan,
Try this: Normally your descent rate from downwind when abeam the threshold to very short final is approx 500 per minute. As you begin to enter ground effect pull back smoothly on the stick to increase Angle Of Attack and reduce power to slow descent to 300 FPM. I bet you touch down softly and controlled on the mains with the nose remaining nicely in the air. Now hold it...hold it until you feel the quicker slowdown. Right there smoothly start moving the stick forward, always controlling the smoothness of motion. If it's windy just do the same thing even if you are adding flaperon and/or rudder at a little higher speed. Remember on final your airspeed is controlled by your stick and descent rate is controlled by your power.

[DesertFox4]

Likely poor pilot technique but who knows with so little information.
There are hundreds of tri-gear Kitfox flying in all kinds of conditions every day. If there was a problem you'd be reading about it here.

Just wondering why the FAA thought this nose gear was weaker than others.

One inspector does not make up the entire FAA. Don't fall for what could be a personal bias. RV's have had several nose gear incidents yet he doesn't mention them or Cessna's or Pipers and I dare say those two have had their share of nose gear failures over the years.

[rogerh12]

I installed the new noise gear retrofit kit on my model-4-1200 last year.

The noise gear itself is honking, probably rated for a 1320 lbs or more plane. The kit included a steel plate and cross braces to reinforce the fuse as well. No rebound dampening though, just rubber doughnuts for shock absorption.

Looks like it would roll over long grass and pot holes ok, but wouldn't take well to a plowed field if you landed nose wheel first.

Hope this helps

Roger