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Gents,Back again.. I"ve been spending some time on G2066 fixing it up to get it back to flight worthy status.So far I"ve had the following issues with it:Flopped it over in Manilla, - Easter 2006Put it into storageA tree fell on itFixed up part of it..Put it into "too hard basket" until nowBought it into the shed for rework.The old carburettor and intake manifold have been removed - I fabricated the old one out of exhaust tubing and found one day that it had rusted out at the connection point to the head. It was pointed out to me by the dude that I went to buy more tube from that the rust scale from the inside of the tube could be inducted into the motor and would cause damage.. scrap the idea of doing the same again. Sooo, I called up the Australian Weber dealer and took the option of getting 2 x CH34 single throat downdraft carburettors [Suit ford 1.6l 4 cyl motor]. I had to make up some adapters to fit them to the head, they now work, jetted out to 155 jets in each carb. There is a balance tube between each and it seems to go quite well and pulls 4600 rpm with the present pitch setting on the 72" warp drive prop I have. These carbs are inexpensive at $140 each [the old one was $350 back in 2005], but the adapters are expensive to make. I needed this arrangement as the normal subi manifold will not fit with the redrive and starter motor that I have. I"ll post some pics when I shrink them to fit.Next problem was the Nose wheel, that is why I am here..I"m tinkering with the idea of putting a nose wheel on it in the same fashion as depicted in the attached photograph.I"ve considered that there will be additional weight, but I would be removing most of the keel ahead of the Joystick mount point to put the front end on.I"m concerned about the inertia of the wheel if it comes into contact with the ground in a high speed landing, the concern being that it will need some energy to spin up and this will have the propensity to nose over the gyro.This wheel assy is off the front end of an old kawasaki 80 dirt bike.
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Top idea mate, I would fit up a set of ape-hangers to it some how just to finish it off.Graeme.
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Ha,Always such an answer, at least I can smile.. sooo I can hang the washing out and dry while I fly!!Cheers,Nic.But seriously.. can you see any problems with this concept?
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Apart from the weight and maybe to much travel? I have seen similar ideas in pics of machines built in the US.Thinking a bit differently is always good.Graeme.
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But seriously.. can you see any problems with this concept?Nic, a couple of questions and they all surround the word WHY.Why do you feel the need to do it?And or why bother?I seem to recall the reason you tipped it over was the front wheel went into a hole? correct?If so just stay the heck away from holes in the ground, i got a standard rossco nose wheel, when im full of fuel and sitting in the seat, just guessing but the nose wheel probably got about 70kg on it, yep its very heavy, but i can get off very short, as soon as the nosewheel lifts im flying. Now i have taken off from some very dodgy places, from sand that you need 3/4 throttle to move to 2 wheel track roads, and no probs.You got to be careful not to get the ol " paralysis from analysis" and remember "there"s no joy, in no joy"Damn i just came out with a couple of good ones then didnt i
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Why do you feel the need to do it?Any serious damage incident to do with G2066 has been associated with the nose wheel. It failed on a couple of occasions and this incident is the final straw for this wheel assy. I"ve posted on this forum the failures when they occurred, but to be sure:1. Stainless steel bolt used with thread in pivot and bearing plane at bottom of keel - the bolt failed through the threaded section as it was in the plane where the maximum bending moment occurs - cured by putting in a grade 5 bolt inverted so the shank was in the plane of bending, not the thread2. Failure of aluminium channel cut to form the spring retainer - this failure resulted in the tyre locking up on the keel and causing the nose over that occurred at Manilla, Easter 2006. This is what the "hole" I fell into was, the sudden drop of the keel onto the nose wheel and the consequent flop over because the nose wheel caused sudden braking when it contacted the keel.I am just wondering what will happen next with it, as Ross Bannerman put it, the nose wheel is a poor copy of a Ross Symes nose wheel assy. If Birdy and Chopper can thrash the crap out of theirs and survive, I think I shall go with their judgement on the matter.And or why bother?I"ll quote L"Oreal, "Because I"m worth it", and also, because it will be one less accident statistic..I seem to recall the reason you tipped it over was the front wheel went into a hole? correct?
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Isn"t there a Butterfly trike with the motorcycle wheel at the front? That seems to be a good design that works and sells as a concept. Have a look at those pics to see what their approach to the idea is.
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I am just wondering what will happen next with it, as Ross Bannerman put it, the nose wheel is a poor copy of a Ross Symes nose wheel assy. If Birdy and Chopper can thrash the crap out of theirs and survive, I think I shall go with their judgement on the matter.Well just get a full rossco set up and that would be the easiest way out, would it not?And or why bother?I"ll quote L"Oreal, "Because I"m worth it", and also, because it will be one less accident statistic..Cheers,Nic.No problems with that i think im worth a crap load more than anyone one else does I cant see any real problem with doing what you want to, as long as the hang is good at the end it wont matter a hoot what it has hanging off it anywhere, just be careful of your power to weight ratio at the end, you dont want to have to fit a bigger engine to fly your shiney new front wheel
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browny,I see your point, but it compensates for lack of width by virtue of diameter.When it comes down to it, it is all surface pressure and bearing area that the tyre spreads across that determines how far into the soil it will sink.As Wal Flaks told me when I was learning under his supervision, you don"t land on green patches, try the brown ones as they are where the soil is more likely to be dried out.If you"re a really good pilot you shouldn"t need to use the nose wheel much as it is... sad thing is I"m not a good pilot.Bones, Yep.Cheers,Nic.
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I rolled a gyro end over nose on take-off 20 yrs back after dropping nose wheel into a bulldust hole. Came out of the dust cloud pissed off and blaming the nose wheel. Later fitted a huge wheelbarrow wheel, but eventually realised the fault was with me. Taught myself to get nose wheel off asap and don"t put it back on the ground untill you"re stopped. I now pass it on to students. Wheels are only wasted energy when your"e in the air. Keep them small and lite, unless your working from soft ground most of the time.
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Good to see you back Nick. Come down to the "Gong some time.Scott
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Max,Yep, I concur.. but I"m not that much of a good pilot yet.. I guess the one thing you can"t avoid is dropping a main down a hole - bulldust or not.Scott!Love to come on down.. It might be less travelling than going up to Murrumbo.. though I am yet to get my ticket to even get off the ground again. It"s been a loooong time since I was in the saddle and I anticipate the need to get some time up on my machine to be a little more familiar with it, again.Cheers,Nic.
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There"s a spare seat for you in the meantime in my machine Nic.Scott
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