Hi Folks,

I have a tricycle gear Kitfox IV with a Rotax 912UL which has several mods, one being a steerable nosewheel of my own design. The main gear is a Grove kit. I wasn't particularly careful with weight during the rebuild that I recently completed, so it's quite a heavy beast: empty weight is 316 kg (695 lb) of which 69 kg (152 lb) are on the nose wheel.

The nosewheel works OK but is not completely satisfactory as it tends to suffer a form of flutter on uneven ground (and our local grass strip definitely meets the definition of "uneven"). I'm thinking it might work better and be subject to less stress if it had less weight on it .

I've already moved the battery aft of the seats, so the only way I could lighten it up a bit would seem to be by moving the main gear forward a few inches. But it's not exactly an easy mod. Has anyone ever heard of or done such a thing? Any ideas?

Regards,
sacha

For reference, here are my empty W&B numbers:
Nose Wheel: 69kg (152lb) x -88cm (-34.6") = -6,072 kg.cm (-5,259 lb.in)
Main Gear: 247kg (543lb) x 34cm (21.3") = 13,338 kg.cm (11,553 lb.in)
Total Weight: 316 kg (695 lb)
Total Moment: 7,266 kg.cm (6,293 lb.in)
CG: 23cm (9.1")