My Skybolt is equipped with Charger gear and I'm having recurring cracking issues. We bought the plane in 2017 and immediately had to do a gear repair (lesson learned regarding pre-buy inspections). The fore gusset wasn't originally built with the fold-over flange, so we rebuilt it to include that feature. We also beefed up the outer tubing in which the attachment pin lives. Fast-forward four years (three, really, because the repair wasn't complete until 2018) and I've discovered more cracking in the same general area. Attached are pictures of the recently found cracks.
Since I'm fed up with having to repair this issue multiple times, I'm strongly considering replacing the gear with a different design. I welcome any comments/advice anyone has, particularly if you've dealt with this issue before. To get the conversation started, here are some questions I have about the different gear options:
Since I'm fed up with having to repair this issue multiple times, I'm strongly considering replacing the gear with a different design. I welcome any comments/advice anyone has, particularly if you've dealt with this issue before. To get the conversation started, here are some questions I have about the different gear options:
- Has anyone replaced the Charger's stacked rubber donuts with something else? Belleville washers, an actual strut, etc.?
- Does the Grove gear have similar stress issues to the Charger gear due to is relatively narrow attachment span (<10" vs ~20" on the bungee geometry)? Has anyone done this successfully with a history of no recurring cracks?
- Is the bungee gear my best option? What's the drag penalty vs either the Charger or Grove gear?
- How do the updated bungee gear's handling characteristics compare to the Grove or Charger gear?
- Lastly, I'll just ask the question directly - what do you recommend I do and why?
