Steel main gear

[Saz]

Just checking if anyone has flown with the spring steel main gear in the original Sonerai 1 drawings. Any personal recollections from pilots who have flown steel geared Sonerai? Preferences from those who have flown both steel and aluminum on how they handle? I found a truck spring shop that I can get the stock material from and I want to make sure it's a good idea before I throw down any money. I have not yet bought the newsletter so let me know if this info is in there. Need to get it anyway, sounds like an excellent resource. Thanks for the help.

 

[Raceair]

Saz…..Only the Prototype, and Denny Rader's Sonerai 1's had the truck spring gear, to my knowledge. They both were retrofitted with the 1/2" Aluminum gear the minute that John Monnett developed the aluminum gear.
I see no advantage or benefit in the use of the truck spring…..Because of the top width (chord), its footprint on the fuselage is smaller, and it looks torsionally flexible as compared with the Aluminum stock gear. The steel gear is most likely heavier as well….Ed

 

[Saz]

For increasing the footprint on the fuselage I was considering making radius blocks somewhat similar to what Grove makes. Hadn’t considered the torsional flexibility, something I’ll have to look in to. It’s definitely going to be heavier (about 8 pounds) when compared to the Grove gear. I guess the main reason it’s still on my mind now is that I’m still more comfortable working with steel and of course $.

 

[Bil4381]

I find that the central task of the homebuilder is to control empty weight by every means available. My Sii has an empty weight of 533 lbs, with the J2200 engine. That means my useful load is greater than the empty weight. Very few designs have that. 8 lbs is huge. I removed cushion clamps for ty-raps and removed tyraps for lacing just to save weight.
IMHO do the same.
Bill E
ps Caveat, my SII has a J3300 engine now which upped the empty weight by 50 lbs. Gasp. Upped the HP to 120 too