If 4 grove gear

[metalman]

Hi, I'm after info on mounting grove one piece gear on a Kitfox 4 , any photos of the weldments or attach points would be really helpful.
Cheers Matty

[Av8r3400]

If you order a Grove gear set you get all of the mounts and hardware needed.

Below is a photo of my gear, showing where the mounts attach.

[Monocock]

Before

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/JonoHolland/0BE7113E-40BA-4B54-B4AF-FE28D7BC9128.jpg



During

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/JonoHolland/02D3320A-2E40-4A45-9A47-E9F5792D3907.jpg

BEFORE ANYONE SAYS, WE QUICKLY REALISED THESE WERE OFFERED UP THE WRONG WAY ROUND!!!

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/JonoHolland/A12911F2-E40D-4C5D-9547-08BE29D3E439.jpg

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/JonoHolland/B6850FF7-3765-4F20-8FD5-CFBAF537F3CB.jpg


After

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f71/JonoHolland/4BD6A5B3-B19D-4B0F-A326-5F82F37B0D1D.jpg


Do go for the gun drilled option. It really tidies it all up nicely.

[Monocock]

You'll find this useful. It shows where the brackets attach.

I found that there was a fair bit of filing (2mm in places) that needed to be done to the new gear lugs to neatly fit in the fuselage brackets. This wasn't a Grove issue, as their product is beatifully built. It was a 20 year old Kitfox jig issue I think!


http://www.groveaircraft.com/kitfoxinstallation.html

If you're in any doubt as to to whether to fit it, don't have doubts. It transforms the aeroplane.

[metalman]

Thanks guys ,very helpful , It'll be a bit more work for me .I'm fitting the gear to an Aussie variant of the Kf4 so it doesn't have the same gear brackets as the original . I've bought the gear second hand and it didn't come with all the bits , so I'm guessing I'll either have to weld on some brackets or mount it like the KF7 , and yep gun drilled ,very neat !

[metalman]

By the way ,how do you tell which way is forward?

[Dick B in KY]

Brake line fittings to the front.

Dick B

[chrisag]

There's a 4 at Yarram with the Grove gear. Come on over and have a look if you want. I think you may have been at Mt Beauty but I didn't put a connection to your aircraft. The KF 4 was there also....cheers..

[Av8r3400]

Brake line fittings to the front.

Dick B

Actually the fittings at the top of the gear are supposed to face the rear of the plane. The fittings at the wheel face down.

[mr bill]

Mine is a tri gear and the brake fittings are on the front.

[Av8r3400]

Mine is a tri gear and the brake fittings are on the front.

Yes. Good point, tri versus tail dragger...

[metalman]

There's a 4 at Yarram with the Grove gear. Come on over and have a look if you want. I think you may have been at Mt Beauty but I didn't put a connection to your aircraft. The KF 4 was there also....cheers..

I'll have to get up there and say g'day , I met up with some Kitfox guys at Benalla on the way home that day , I was up at Mt beauty on the Sunday morning, got there just after the Rans plowed into the c182 .
Had a good look over Ross's ss7 ,bloody nice plane!
Cheers Matty

[jrevens]

I'm pretty sure that the gear is designed with the fittings on the front, conventional or tricycle gear - at least with the Series 7 SS. I believe that's the way they do it at the factory too. Am I wrong?

[metalman]

I'm pretty sure that the gear is designed with the fittings on the front, conventional or tricycle gear - at least with the Series 7 SS. I believe that's the way they do it at the factory too. Am I wrong?

Is there any toe in, toe out on the grove gear?

[Av8r3400]

The gear is manufactured straight with no toe in or out. They offer shims if needed to adjust this.

On my model IV (Which is what you have there, right?) the ports are meant to face the rear to give clearance to the radiator and I believe to clear the bungee truss. In a tricycle configuration or other models this may be different. I can't speak to those.

[PapuaPilot]

I checked for toe-in/out on my KF 5 recently and the Grove gear was perfectly straight.

[Floog]

Me and Jim and Scott all built our Model 7's with the fittings facing forward according to the manual I think. Chime in Jim. It seems to make more sense to have them face aft out of the slip stream. I wonder why it's like that?? (My plane is 150 miles away, so I can't go look at it.)

[Floog]

Incidentally, they're all conventional configuration.

[Monocock]

I once had a Mk5 without gun drilled gear, and the brake line was at the rear.

So, it sounds like taildraggers have it to the rear, and training wheel ones have it to the front.

[metalman]

The grove fitting kit has them at the rear

http://www.groveaircraft.com/images/GearInstallation.pdf

The airframe I've got is called a Skyfox, basically a Kitfox4 copy, but without the landing gear brackets to fit grove gear to , I'm thinking it may be easier to mount the gear with some bolts vertically through the underside of the fuse,

[jiott]

As Floog says, for the SS7 brake ports face forward (at the top, not talking about the bottom). Another way to tell front from back on the Grove gear is the front edge of the gear is straight and parallel all the way around the "U". The back edge of the gear legs taper slightly from top to bottom. From a side view the taper in the back looks better.

[Geowitz]

The grove fitting kit has them at the rear

http://www.groveaircraft.com/images/GearInstallation.pdf

The airframe I've got is called a Skyfox, basically a Kitfox4 copy, but without the landing gear brackets to fit grove gear to , I'm thinking it may be easier to mount the gear with some bolts vertically through the underside of the fuse,

I would not suggest using the gear without the engineered brackets. They are crucial to the flex, absorption, and transfer of energy through the gear and to the fuse by allowing the gear to "float" and reflex through them. A lot of the stress is transferred to the middle portion of the gear. The brackets also rotate along the bolts that tie them to the fuse as the gear flexes. Restricting the movement or the flex of the gear by any means other than the two designed points of restraint will not work.

[metalman]

I would not suggest using the gear without the engineered brackets. They are crucial to the flex, absorption, and transfer of energy through the gear and to the fuse by allowing the gear to "float" and reflex through them. A lot of the stress is transferred to the middle portion of the gear. The brackets also rotate along the bolts that tie them to the fuse as the gear flexes. Restricting the movement or the flex of the gear by any means other than the two designed points of restraint will not work.

I guess I didn't post that very clearly ,I'm using the grove mounting plates but may have to mount the gear more like a 7 than a converted four , it may work out easy to weld on mounts like the KF4 , that's the reason for the thread ,to see which way works best , and to be clear mechanical engineering and modifying vehicles is my business( meaning I do it for a job ) , aircraft are a little different ,but not much ,mostly in the lightness of their construction.
Matty

[Av8r3400]

Are you retrofitting this to a finished plane or something you are building?

If you are building, I would highly suggest reenforcing the side truss, above the gear mount, to strengthen it. Below is how I did it in my project plane.

http://www.avidfoxflyers.com/uploads/monthly_01_2013/post-36-13595151980036.jpg

[metalman]

Are you retrofitting this to a finished plane or something you are building?

If you are building, I would highly suggest reenforcing the side truss, above the gear mount, to strengthen it. Below is how I did it in my project plane.

http://www.avidfoxflyers.com/uploads/monthly_01_2013/post-36-13595151980036.jpg

Nice, yeh it's a project/new build, I was looking at something similar if I mount the gear the same as the KF7,