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HELP - Wittman landing gear on UL?

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olgol

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 13, 2007
Messages
85
I am trying to find any information about Wittman type of landing gear and I can't find any specifics. Are there any special design considerations, gotchas, things to look out for, difficulties in implementation, installation, etc. of such gear design? There are a lot of praises and credits to Wittman on this (and the leaf spring) gear design, but why are there not a lot of tailwheel airplanes using this gear design?
I understand that it will be more difficult to implement than a straight rod or leaf spring gear - the angle of the leg and the angle of the axle relative to the leg are related and will set the camber and toe in of the wheel. Is this a major pain in practice?
The reason I want to use this gear design on my future UL (if it ever gets beyond the drawing board) is to avoid having any major structure in the fuselage between the firewall and the pilot seat. Installing a straight rod/leaf gear would require some attachment points in that location.
I would not use a steel rod on my UL probably, but likely a fiberglass rod with a steel axle attached to it at the end. Attaching it at the firewall with a significant angle will move the wheels back to the proper (almost) location. Using a straight rod/leaf gear installed at the firewall will put the wheels too far forward. I assume this is not good for already unstable tailwheel gear design.
Thanks for any advice!
Oleg.
 

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