birdus
Well-Known Member
I sent this e-mail to Grove Aircraft on Tuesday and haven't heard back yet. Thought I'd post it here and see what you all think.
(An overview of the fuselage purchase is on my YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a9SaoO_P6U)
Letter to Grove:
I just purchased a completed fuselage for my Super Baby Great Lakes project from another builder. It came with spring gear that someone told me are from you. In fact, they gave me a hyperlink pointing directly to your Baby Great Lakes gear. The gear are obviously not your Baby Great Lakes gear, as I discovered after measuring them and comparing those measurements to those on your website. I’m wondering which gear mine are and if they’re even yours. What I really need to know is if these gear will work on my airplane.
After doing some research, I believe that radius plates are the correct way to attach gear to the plane so that the plates are located right where the gear begin to curve downward. This will keep the gear centered on the fuselage and allow them to flex. I’m just guessing about this. Please verify that I am on track. These gear are definitely wider than my fuselage and are held on with angle brackets. This doesn’t seem right. Additionally, these gear seem stiffer than I would expect for this small plane, but I could be wrong. Once the plane is loaded and with the impact of landing, they may be appropriate. That’s what I’d like you to help me learn.
I’ve attached some photos of the plane and gear and I’ll give you the dimensions here.
Depth (front to back at top where it attaches to fuselage): 6”
Width, wheel to wheel: 48”
Width (flat along top): 25”
Height: 19”
Bolt pattern: 1.375”, center to center, square pattern
Thickness: 1/2”
(An overview of the fuselage purchase is on my YouTube channel, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a9SaoO_P6U)
Letter to Grove:
I just purchased a completed fuselage for my Super Baby Great Lakes project from another builder. It came with spring gear that someone told me are from you. In fact, they gave me a hyperlink pointing directly to your Baby Great Lakes gear. The gear are obviously not your Baby Great Lakes gear, as I discovered after measuring them and comparing those measurements to those on your website. I’m wondering which gear mine are and if they’re even yours. What I really need to know is if these gear will work on my airplane.
After doing some research, I believe that radius plates are the correct way to attach gear to the plane so that the plates are located right where the gear begin to curve downward. This will keep the gear centered on the fuselage and allow them to flex. I’m just guessing about this. Please verify that I am on track. These gear are definitely wider than my fuselage and are held on with angle brackets. This doesn’t seem right. Additionally, these gear seem stiffer than I would expect for this small plane, but I could be wrong. Once the plane is loaded and with the impact of landing, they may be appropriate. That’s what I’d like you to help me learn.
I’ve attached some photos of the plane and gear and I’ll give you the dimensions here.
Depth (front to back at top where it attaches to fuselage): 6”
Width, wheel to wheel: 48”
Width (flat along top): 25”
Height: 19”
Bolt pattern: 1.375”, center to center, square pattern
Thickness: 1/2”
