Been looking into wheel alignment. Bought laser level to test and see where the toe in/out was. Then How I went about fixing the problem. Plus a list of things to work out in the near future.
I have been wanting to build my own "Bird" and All of your videos are giving me the Knowledge that I could possibly need to get it built. I Truly Salute you and your Dedication to this WAR Project that you have shared with us
You just discovered the whole purpose of these videos. They were meant for just that purpose. To show others what to expect if you want to build one of these planes. But it can help other builds as well.
Wow, I've been following your project for about a year now! I'm fascinated by all the things that go into making a airplane work. It's details like these that put me more at ease about your airplane!!! All I can say is FANTASTIC!!!!
I love the updates Don, keep them coming. If I didn't have problems with my hips and lived closer to you I would love to help you with that build. Keep up the good work.
Most excellent report of incremental progress toward success, the only thing for which they pay us. Interesting the irritation at people second guessing you. You’re darn tootin’ going to fly that plane when the both of you are good and ready - and not a moment before. You have lived this machine for years, before you possessed the first rivet and sheet of aluminum. Your attention to detail on full display is confidence building for those in the know, all omens for your achievement in flight. Heck, if I knew about it with a least bit of advance notice, I’d drive up there to join your ground crew and cheering squad. You go guy - keep healthy to keep that medical current, and all else will play out as written in the stars.
I hear the pain in your voice. I worked today for 4 hours changing out some light switches for a friend and my uncle Arthur was screaming blood murder by 4pm. But it was good to help someone else, gratis,for a change. Just know that keeping us posted is a form of helping others. As for the "do it my way" warriors. tell them to build theirs however they choose. That's not really how I would tell them,but this family friendly space.
Don, you’ve become a major influence on the way I approach projects and challenges that find their way into my life. You’re a master problem solver, one who is wise enough to avoid rushing the process. As you often say, the plane will fly when it’s ready to fly. At 70, watching people like you make me feel younger, and hungrier than ever to keep learning and eventually mastering whatever I undertake. Thanks for all the inspiration.
I had a Johnsons Tiger cub tail dragger. I toed the tires just a bit inward to keep the main gear from spreading. Moving too much, either way, we will wear the tread. It obvious you know what you're doing. Thanks for your channel. It is dangerous to fly something you haven't got any time in. You should have some kind of experience in the same type. I got into a single seat tail dragger from flying a tricycle gear Flightstar and flew it without a problem, but they both had a lot of wing and rudder.
Since this gear isn't a sprung type aluminum, it doesn't flex out or up and down in an arc. Any play in this plane will cause the toe to move some, as well as forward and back only. All planes have some play. You can't get away from it.
I've got to talk to you before tow in. Tow out doesn't really matter just as long as you don't have too much of it. Or not at all towing. On tow in When you go to ground loop, the outside wheel. When the weight transfers to it from the plane to that wheel, it grips and makes you ground lope quicker. Now tow out when you go to ground. Load the weight transfers to that outward wheel . It kind of keeps you going down the runwand why but the same is totally opposite with the other way brut either way. You get a benefit and a problem, but they both are equal and cancel each other out. So my opinion is personal preference. You're doing a wonderful job, love your videos.
Awesome improvements. The details you work out provide the solutions for those of us following you to make this project closer to a commercialized kit...and less like trying to figure it out and winging it reading off the plans. Love the progress, keep it going Don!
Don, I have all of the confidence in the world in you and your ability to fly that plane, since it has never flown before after spending so much time as you have done to create such a masterpiece. I would not fly it until I thought it was ready, I support your reasoning, 110% sir.😊
👍👍 Don, you're getting closer and closer to a safe 1st flight! I wish I could send you some balmy northeast Thailand weather. We've had highs in the 90s for the past couple of weeks. This is unusually hot for this time of year. Good luck wrestling with the last few details. 😁
A scribed line on the tires, measured with a trammel bar in the most accurate way to measure the toe. On automobiles, toe-in is more stable, too-out tends to wander.
I would think there is an easier way to measure the Toe. Maybe make a set of "Shoes" that cradle the wheels, with a precision mark in the center of the Shoe? (then measure from center-to-center). I wish I knew how to explain my idea better; but maybe it'll give you an idea on how to make something. I'm good at spending other people's money 😊😊 Having 3 green LED's, for a Gear Down Indicator will be nice. Don't listen to the naysayers, when they talk about it not flying. It's your plane, you'll fly it when you're ready. It takes a good bit of guts to test an unknown aircraft.
I understand what you were trying to say. You need to find the relation ship of the tires to the centerline of the plane. Then adjust toe. My wheels were not inline with the center of the plane. Now they are. I'm happy with the toe out right now. Future adjustments can now be done without re-shooting the laser.
Yep, on tail dragger model airplanes, we toe the main wheels out some. It helps keep the plane from ground looping. Camber (leaning the top of the wheels out) also helps, but you can't do that on your Corsair.
👍 You're certainly detail oriented. To align the gear, I'd have either just eyeballed it or settled for +/- 1.0 deg for either side and called her good. Landing speeds are so slow I would think alignment would not be very critical. Landing at 120 kts?, that would be another story. Thanks for the update.
Another place you can adjust the tow is the pivot point where the upper and lower scissors bolt together by adding or removing washers between the two.
Great update thanks. Have you considered a nice long & wide grass field for the first few flights? Just to have some more forgiving conditions for the taildragger… obviously after things dried out in the spring/summer.
You might wanna jack the main gear, and with a improvised steady rest, to support a scribe, spin the tire, to scribe the actual centerline of the tire / wheel, and measure a equal distance front a rear to your straightedge, as there can be a fair amount of distortion in the tire / wheel assembly. You can also measure across the scribed lines front and rear, to measure toe directly.
For your in transit landing gear light, could you just tap off the motor power wire to power a relay to trigger the indicator LED? I'm sure you've already have a solution to this issue though. Thanks for the update Don.
The power to the gear retract pump only has two wires, power and ground. They have to be reversed to make the pump run backwards. That is done with the relays. If you try to tap into the power wire at the pump, it will only work in one direction, due to the wires switching polarity. Also the power to the relays are always hot. So the light would always be on. I'll give it some more thought. Thanks for the input.
Don with all intro on landing gear would thier be extension cord switch to cycle the landing gear? So you can monitor the gear swing outside the aircraft. Just brain fart on my part! Awesome updates keep up good work. Thanks for letting us tag along during your adventure 😊
Hi, remember i had the FW190. My A&P tolt me having the undercarrige one degree to the outside is because the Fw gear swing inside, and the outside configuration it tows the gear outbound wile landing. But yours is swinging back, so should it not be 0 degree? For the FW there was an attatchment for the jacks on the firewall nearby the motormount..so it does not hit the mooving of the gear. You are a great builder, greetings from Salzburg a very warm hug for chrismas
My gear was toed in a small amount. Being almost straight, and with the little bit of play in them, may have helped with the constant moving around when fast taxi testing. Some toe out should help pull the wheels out and keep them from floating in and out toe. I think I will be able to jack mine up just fine from a little farther out under the outer wing panels. Hope you have a great Christmas as well.
I'm sure you were happy that the rod adjustment resolved the in/out issue without the internal alternative you explained. Looks mighty good, just too cold, wait until Spring. Make sure those snow plows know where your wing is when they're rushing to get to work and tired returning.....Maybe tall/large florescent orange witch caps like real airports use. Trust no one.
Curious, Is the frame of the aircraft on the same center line as the prop spinner? Is the engine mount set at an angle so that the prop spinner is on the center line after mounting? Nice looking build. What is the build time on this? Thanks for the video.
That is alot of work to align the wheels and to figure out dead center. "VERY EDGAMACATIONAL!" You're not the only one with arthritis in your entire spine, Don. I feel your pain. I have it, too, with degenerative disc disease. "OUCH!" "GET'ER'FLY'IN, DON!" Taxi? I thought you said your a UBER driver? "JOKE!"
I would think with the wheels outside of the struts you would start with toe in or 0 toe, as you roll fwd your slop will cause toe out. Seems your never finished messing with this plane . Maybe next spring ...
There are two kinds of builders. Builders that build to fly and builders that just like to build. One of my build mentors said, "Make it airworthy and fix the little shit later, or you will never fly it." Most builders test fly before paint so they can fix the issues while in primer.
You're splitting hairs with Stephen over the Kit built comment. He probably doesn't know the difference between scratch built, plans built and kit built.
There will always be some play in gear that uses a strut design. If you are able to shim out some of it, the better. If there are any bushings that can be replaced, will help. Mine has about the same as yours, but there is no way to get it out.@@jridge16
