Grove landing gear

[herman pahls 9]

I have been searching for a Kitfox model 4 with a 912s to replace my model 2 with a 582.

I also want taller gear for more angle of attack

I like the simplicity of the Grove gear but had the impression it weighed 30#'s more than the stock gear so I never considered it.

I called Grove and they told me the their complete gear with mounting brackets for a model 4 weighs 30#'s and they could make it a few inches taller.

So how much weight does the Grove gear really ad?

It is expensive compared to the alternatives.

It's design should be more aerodynamic.

How well does it absorb landing loads, especially on rocks with ABW's compared to the stock bungee gear I am using now?

It seems this forum has been cautious about the durability of the aftermarket "Bush Gears" so I have been looking for other options.

How durable is the Grove Gear and how it attaches to the longerons?

Thanks for sharing your "Gear" experiences.

Still searching for a Kitfox model 4-1200 with a 912s.

Thanks Herman

 

 

[SkyPirate 8]

I know on the kitfox aircraft web site they have a video of a drop test with grove gear, thinking its over 4,000 lbs of weight on it but im not positive, i'd be willing to bet the gear would survive a hard landing moreso then the fuselage, unless your building a kit or modifying the area where the gear mounts on a finished kit, which adds more weight , common sense has to play a role in how much abuse one subjects the plane to, the old saying its only as strong as its weakest point has some merit

[dholly 718]

How durable is the Grove Gear and how it attaches to the longerons?

Thanks Herman

Very effective and durable landing gear for vertical force absorbsion (ie., pancake landing). However, horizontal linear or rearward twisting forces to the spring gear are transferred to the fuselage at a single point via a relatively small clamping block (vs. tube gear with two wider attach points). Therein lies a definite potential downside of using the Grove gear IMHO. See the pics of my wrecked KF3 on site showing what happens to the fuselage when you drop a wheel into a ditch or gopher hole at speed. Suffice to say that the spring gear is a whole lot stronger than the fuselage. In my case the spring gear was undamaged and I can't help but wonder if either oem or bush style tube gear would have let go first and saved the frame. I highly recommend you gusset the side truss over the gear attach brackets when using Grove spring gear on older models, there is a good reason the new KF kits have side gussets welded in.

[Av8r3400 1179]

I did the conversion to Grove from bungee and the plane gained 12#.

Look at my mangy fox thread and you will see I put on a taller custom Grove spring. 2-1/2" taller and 3" wider. L

[EDMO 1078]

The later - Kitfox 5 to 7 - Grove spring weighs 10 lbs more than the 1-4 Grove gear, but it is 8 inches wider wheelbase and more Gross weight.

EDMO

[6320012s 12]

My grove gear was a great improvement over the original bungee gear, but after stripping the nuts off the clamp bolts (still not sure how that happened), I will be oversizing the bolts and adding two nuts.   Great gear, but they don't track very well with only one clamp in place.  (  

[herman pahls 9]

I appreciate this forums comments and experience with  the Grove style gear.

I always wondered about the narrow fore and aft footprint where the Grove gear attaches to the brackets and the load on the longerons.

I recently spoke with one builder of cub style-cabane gear for Kitfox's and he felt his gear needed redesign due to the load the cabane places on the longerons.

I like the simplicity of the Grove and will consider it for my next homebuilt.

Herman