Pietenpol tail wheel leaf spring mounting.

[Bubbleboy]

Hi all...I am building my Pietenpol fuselage and have my tail wheel assembly here. The leaf spring has only one hole drilled in each end. This is causing me to scratch my head as to how I mount it on the bottom of the fuselage. Other builders have used a leaf spring with two holes at the fuselage mounting point so just two bolts are used. Is this spring supposed to have a cradle that supports the spring at the rear most part of the fuselage? Im assuming drilling another hole wouldnt be possible if it is spring steel? If I cant use this spring, what other alternatives are out there?

 

Scotty

 

 

 

[pda]

Hi all...I am building my Pietenpol fuselage and have my tail wheel assembly here. The leaf spring has only one hole drilled in each end. This is causing me to scratch my head as to how I mount it on the bottom of the fuselage. Other builders have used a leaf spring with two holes at the fuselage mounting point so just two bolts are used. Is this spring supposed to have a cradle that supports the spring at the rear most part of the fuselage? Im assuming drilling another hole wouldnt be possible if it is spring steel? If I cant use this spring, what other alternatives are out there?Scotty

 

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Scotty,

you probably need to look at the tailwheel detail for the GN1 aircamper .. it has a fabricated metal clamp to support the rear of the spring ..I can send you a copy of the drawing ..regards peter

 

 

[djpacro]

http://members.eaa.org/home/homebuilders/building/landing/4Tail%20Wheel%20Installations.html

[Bubbleboy]

Scotty,you probably need to look at the tailwheel detail for the GN1 aircamper .. it has a fabricated metal clamp to support the rear of the spring ..I can send you a copy of the drawing ..regards peter

Peter ...yes your right actually. I have a set of GN1 plans with a fellow builder at the moment. I will have a look at those.

DJP....fantastic article and a good tip about using a masonary bit to drill an extra hole!

 

Thanks guys...I knew someone on here would point me in the right direction! Back to the garage I go!

 

Scotty

 

 

[old man emu]

Are you going to two spring leaves?

 

OME

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

Geez Mark...im torn to be honest! After hearing about one breaking I feel I should but there are plenty flying with a single spring. The Piet is tail heavy anyway so dont want to add further weight if not needed...jury is out!

 

Scotty

 

 

[old man emu]

Well, I bet the original Piet used a Model T spring leaf. What did that Piet at Somersby have?

 

OME

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

Yes but the original had a skid which was a T leaf spring. Andrews had a home made assembly if I recall. His was castoring which made taxying a little exciting!

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

Hey Scott,

 

You've heard me say this before, and I don't want to be a smart ar*se, but what does the manual say?

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

Hiya Wayne.....well the manual says make a skid from a Ford Model T front leaf spring! Arthur Johnson in Queensland is flying his with the same spring and says its fine. Mike Cuy in the USA said his would flex too much while taxying and added another spring and broke one. The 1929 manual could be a tad outdated...lol

 

Actually looking at pics of both Piets, Mike drilled another hole and mounted it with two bolts where as Arthur had one bolt and a saddle setup which may offer more sideways support?

 

Scotty

 

 

[Wayne T Mathews]

Arthur went with the original idea and it's working fine...

 

Mike modified his because... and it broke... Hmmmm...

 

 

[Bubbleboy]

OK...leave it as it is! Settled!

 

Thanks guys