Landing Gear Fuselage Attach Brackets

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Posted

I'm looking for some details on the landing gear attach brackets welded to the lower fuselage longerons. I am getting ready to start a repair to the longerons in this area and will likely have to fabricated these attach brackets. I have not stripped off the powder coating yet, so it is difficult to tell. Are these brackets bent up or welded plate? Or, both? Has anyone fabricated these? 

Seth

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Posted

I would have to go look at mine again to really answer your question, but just sitting here thinking, (dangerous) If the brackets aren't bent up, could you cut them away from the tubing (which needs to be replaced anyway) and then carefully grind off all the tubing and weld from the brackets.  Then replace the tubing on the fuselage and reweld the landing gear brackets back in place.  JImChuk 

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Posted

That will probably be what I end up doing for the rear bracket. I will need to look at the forward bracket to see if it will be reusable. Thanks Jim

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Posted

I'm not sure i would even grind all of the tubing away. I would try cutting either side of the bracket and then put a 0.058 wall tube that fits inside and then splice into the new longerons with some rosette welds and a perimeter weld.

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Posted

May want to put some added gussets in when you rebuild it.  This is my MK IV, (first picture) and you can see the added material under the doors and in the seat truss.  Also, you can see the added tubing around the door frame that gave me a 3" wider seating area.  On my Kitfox 4 I filled in completely between the longeron and door frame and widened 2" on each side.  Would do it that way in the future as well.  JImChuk

PS  bummer about the plane.  Been there, done that.  

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Posted

They are bent but very easy to fab up.  If you buy the Raven plans online they have the drawings with dimensions for the parts.  The down side of trying to use the existing part is that you will not be able to get the proper weld onto the tube.  I would just go ahead and make the new parts.  Plans are under $15 if I re call correctly 

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Posted

Here are the new rear brackets i got when I bought the Bush gear for my KF1. i didn't need them. They're pretty much the same as the stock front brackets. They're made of 4 pieces of steel. 

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Posted

The KF mount is slightly different and the Avid contains one additional piece that is clear in the MK IV photo above.  They are also mounted a little more outboard on the Avid.

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Posted

I did not realize that the Raven plans existed. I will look into that, it may be helpful in other areas as well.

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Posted

I did not realize that the Raven plans existed. I will look into that, it may be helpful in other areas as well.

The Raven plans are basically the kitfox model 2. So might not be too helpful. 

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Posted

Jim,

Thank you for those pictures. I am definitely going to add some reinforcing gussets to the longerons and the seat truss as well during the repair. It looks like both the attach brackets did not get damaged, just the attaching longerons/tubing. I bought this project last fall (previous owner ground looped), but am just now getting started on it. I had a new cabane style landing gear fabricated by Lowell last winter that I will be installing. I have read mixed reviews on the spring suspension so am a little hesitant to use it. I have even thought about retrofitting the monster shock setup to the gear.   Seth

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Posted

I have Lowell's gear on my MK IV, and do like it.  Good bit more stable then the original gear with the wider stance.  I try not to give the gear much of a workout, my strip is a bit bumpy and some up and down hill, but not near as bad as off field landings would be.  Don't think I have ever dropped it in hard since I put it on so I can't really say how much it will take.  The shocks would be nice to stop rebound though.  JImChuk

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