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madriver42(at)gmail.com
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 Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 4:27 pm Post subject: Landing Gear Pads |
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How many of you have changed out the main gear mounting pads on a 701. A while back it was brought to our attention that there might be a problem with durability of the old pads. One guy even spoke about cutting the side walls out of truck tires to get robust pads. Some time after I picked up my kit in early 2007 the Zenith folks have changed the material to a more substantial compound.
I ordered up the new part number pads last year after talking with Roger. The "new pads" as sent from Zenith last year are brown in color and seem to be of a completely different compound. Has any one had experience with the new pads vs the old black colored pads?? Good or bad??? I have seen the current pad on the right main starting to pinch and tear along the rear outside edge of the "L" bracket fitting - but it still seems to be airworthy. But this has prompted me to get on the stick and change out the pads just in case...
Btw what did you find the best way to "jack up" the plane to change out the pads. I figure it's probably best to do it by dropping one side of the gear at a time enough to remove the old and slip in the new. I want to avoid undoing the brake lines if possible.
After looking the whole thing over I thought that I could push the rear of the plane down and put a saw horse or some other support just ahead of the gear area across the bottom of the floor pan on the longitudinal "thick L angles" then let the plane rock fwd until the gear comes off the ground. Will this work???
Ttfn and thanks for your valued input.
Still grinnin
Phil
CH 701 912ULS
Buhl ID
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dougsnash
Joined: 14 Apr 2008
Posts: 282
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| Posted: Sun May 29, 2011 5:21 pm Post subject: Landing Gear Pads |
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As has been said here before, don't even waste time with the old style pads. The new ones are significantly better. My plane had a mushy feel when taxiing that has completely disappeared with the new pads.
As for changing out the pads, my hanger mate has a really nice step ladder that was a bit shorter than the bottom of my wings. A couple of blocks and some padding imediately outboard of the strut/spar intersection and I was able to lift the side of the plane far enough to get the rubber blocks out and install the new ones.
One other thing to consider is you may want to get new locknuts. Mine were okay to re-use (still lots of lock left) but the nuts on a CH-750 I'm helping with were completely shot after removing them a second time.
Doug MacDonald
CH-701
NW Ontario, Canada
Do Not Archive
From: Philip Smith <madriver42(at)gmail.com>
To: zenith701801-list(at)matronics.com; zenith-list(at)matronics.com
Sent: Sun, May 29, 2011 7:25:14 PM
Subject: Landing Gear Pads
How many of you have changed out the main gear mounting pads on a 701. A while back it was brought to our attention that there might be a problem with durability of the old pads. One guy even spoke about cutting the side walls out of truck tires to get robust pads. Some time after I picked up my kit in early 2007 the Zenith folks have changed the material to a more substantial compound.
I ordered up the new part number pads last year after talking with Roger. The "new pads" as sent from Zenith last year are brown in color and seem to be of a completely different compound. Has any one had experience with the new pads vs the old black colored pads?? Good or bad??? I have seen the current pad on the right main starting to pinch and tear along the rear outside edge of the "L" bracket fitting - but it still seems to be airworthy. But this has prompted me to get on the stick and change out the pads just in case...
Btw what did you find the best way to "jack up" the plane to change out the pads. I figure it's probably best to do it by dropping one side of the gear at a time enough to remove the old and slip in the new. I want to avoid undoing the brake lines if possible.
After looking the whole thing over I thought that I could push the rear of the plane down and put a saw horse or some other support just ahead of the gear area across the bottom of the floor pan on the longitudinal "thick L angles" then let the plane rock fwd until the gear comes off the ground. Will this work???
Ttfn and thanks for your valued input.
Still grinnin
Phil
CH 701 912ULS
Buhl ID
[quote][b]
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ken Buchmann
Joined: 18 Feb 2008
Posts: 6
Location: New Haven,MO
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 1:11 am Post subject: landing gear pads |
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Phil;
My experience with changing pads turned into a calamity. My advice is to use straw or hay bales placed first under the fuselage at the inspection opening then place bales under each wing. This will stabilize the plane when you raise it off the gear. My pads the rubber sidewall type had adhered to the gear and fuselage in pieces these pieces had to be scraped away from the surface. Use a jack placed in front of the gear to raise the plane, preferably an ATV jack use a board to distribute the weight.
Remember when you are under the plane it is dangerous for both man and plane use the belt and suspender principle.
The insurance from the 701 helped to pay for the present 750 kit.
Ken
[quote][b]
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bobkat
Joined: 07 Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Location: Bismarck, ND
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:31 am Post subject: landing gear pads |
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Ouch! Whatever can go wrong definitely will! Too bad. I changed mine by doing one side at a time using a couple of engine lifts ā one hooked up to the engine itself through the engine lift bolt hole and one with padded wide straps around the mid/aft fuselage plus my original wing supports from putting the wing on under each wing during its construction. Even with the ābelt and two separate sets of suspendersā approach the thing was shaky enough. Having an extra three pair of hands after a local EAA was also helpful. Those planes donāt weigh so much but they are terribly awkward and ungainly things once you get weight off the gear. Thanks for the reminder,Ken. Sounds like you have a good āhalf fullā attitude rather than āhalf empty.ā Too bad about your disaster......
From: Ken and Cathy Buchmann (buchdvm(at)fidnet.com)
Sent: Monday, May 30, 2011 4:08 AM
To: zenith701801-list(at)matronics.com (zenith701801-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: landing gear pads
Phil;
My experience with changing pads turned into a calamity. My advice is to use straw or hay bales placed first under the fuselage at the inspection opening then place bales under each wing. This will stabilize the plane when you raise it off the gear. My pads the rubber sidewall type had adhered to the gear and fuselage in pieces these pieces had to be scraped away from the surface. Use a jack placed in front of the gear to raise the plane, preferably an ATV jack use a board to distribute the weight.
Remember when you are under the plane it is dangerous for both man and plane use the belt and suspender principle.
The insurance from the 701 helped to pay for the present 750 kit.
Ken
[quote]
href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Zenith701801-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Zenith701801-List
href="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.matronics.com
href="http://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/c
[b]
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bobkat
Joined: 07 Sep 2008
Posts: 143
Location: Bismarck, ND
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 4:53 am Post subject: Landing Gear Pads |
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The original stuff from Zenith was gone in a few hours so I used some thick tough stuff I got from our local Macs Hardware, a sort of partly surplus hardware place here. I think it was rough tough belting of some kind. So far so good but Iām keeping a good eye on it. I posted here details of how I lifted the plane fore and aft with a couple of engine hoists things stabilizing the wingtips with 2 X 4 supports and 3 pairs of extra hands. Like was posted here, whatever can possibly go wrong definitely will, so you canāt have too much help ā the actual changeover is easy and fast, but supporting and stabilizing the thing and preventing a disaster is the tough part.
From: Philip Smith (madriver42(at)gmail.com)
Sent: Sunday, May 29, 2011 7:25 PM
To: zenith701801-list(at)matronics.com (zenith701801-list(at)matronics.com) ; zenith-list(at)matronics.com (zenith-list(at)matronics.com)
Subject: Landing Gear Pads
How many of you have changed out the main gear mounting pads on a 701. A while back it was brought to our attention that there might be a problem with durability of the old pads. One guy even spoke about cutting the side walls out of truck tires to get robust pads. Some time after I picked up my kit in early 2007 the Zenith folks have changed the material to a more substantial compound.
I ordered up the new part number pads last year after talking with Roger. The "new pads" as sent from Zenith last year are brown in color and seem to be of a completely different compound. Has any one had experience with the new pads vs the old black colored pads?? Good or bad??? I have seen the current pad on the right main starting to pinch and tear along the rear outside edge of the "L" bracket fitting - but it still seems to be airworthy. But this has prompted me to get on the stick and change out the pads just in case...
Btw what did you find the best way to "jack up" the plane to change out the pads. I figure it's probably best to do it by dropping one side of the gear at a time enough to remove the old and slip in the new. I want to avoid undoing the brake lines if possible.
After looking the whole thing over I thought that I could push the rear of the plane down and put a saw horse or some other support just ahead of the gear area across the bottom of the floor pan on the longitudinal "thick L angles" then let the plane rock fwd until the gear comes off the ground. Will this work???
Ttfn and thanks for your valued input.
Still grinnin
Phil
CH 701 912ULS
Buhl ID
[quote]
href="http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Zenith701801-List">http://www.matronics.com/Navigator?Zenith701801-List
href="http://forums.matronics.com">http://forums.matronics.com
href="http://www.matronics.com/contribution">http://www.matronics.com/c
[b]
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dons701
Joined: 22 May 2009
Posts: 80
Location: Hershey, PA
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 5:24 am Post subject: Re: Landing Gear Pads |
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Hi Phil
Some time ago I had to change out the entire main gear as the original (previous owner's hard landing), was out of spec. All I did was lift the plane with my floor jack one side at a time and place a 2x4 about 1 foot long or greater along the bottom outside edge, just ahead of the main gear. Then placed my auto jack stand under the 2x4 each side. The plane felt rock solid when pushed and pulled as the tires were just off the ground. For extra security, I supported the tail with a strap and come-along from the hangar rafter. New main gear and pads were installed. The questionable part was how tight to make the clamping nuts to prevent "rocking" of the main gear in the clamps. The tighter you go, the more you pre-load the spring effect of the main gear. Maybe others will contribute some input on this tightening issue.
As a side note, Grove main gear has what they call radius plates for the gear to flex around when under compression. This implies the importance of cutting and placement of the upper pads equally. I have never asked if these plates can be used with the Zenith factory gear, it would interesting. Check http://www.groveaircraft.com/radiusplates.html
Most of all no matter how you do the job, be safe and secure at all times as others have said...Enough said............Don B
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Zenith 701 #76120
Jabiru 2200A #2456 95 hours
Sensenich Wood 64-PJ-36 Prop |
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john.marzulli(at)gmail.co
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| Posted: Mon May 30, 2011 6:24 am Post subject: Landing Gear Pads |
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I asked about the Grove radius plates for Zenith, and the answer was "NO".
IIRC, it was due to the notches put in the gear to secure them.
John Marzulli
http://MarzulliPhoto.net/
http://701Builder.blogspot.com/
On Mon, May 30, 2011 at 6:24 AM, dons701 <burdon1(at)comcast.net (burdon1(at)comcast.net)> wrote:
[quote] --> Zenith701801-List message posted by: "dons701" <burdon1(at)comcast.net (burdon1(at)comcast.net)>
Hi Phil
Some time ago I had to change out the entire main gear as the original (previous owner's hard landing), was out of spec. All I did was lift the plane with my floor jack one side at a time and place a 2x4 about 1 foot long or greater along the bottom outside edge, just ahead of the main gear. Then placed my auto jack stand under the 2x4 each side. The plane felt rock solid when pushed and pulled as the tires were just off the ground. For extra security, I supported the tail with a strap and come-along from the hangar rafter. New main gear and pads were installed. The questionable part was how tight to make the clamping nuts to prevent "rocking" of the main gear in the clamps. The tighter you go, the more you pre-load the spring effect of the main gear. Maybe others will contribute some input on this tightening issue.
As a side note, Grove main gear has what they call radius plates for the gear to flex around when under compression. This implies the importance of cutting and placement of the upper pads equally. I have never asked if these plates can be used with the Zenith factory gear, it would interesting. Check http://www.groveaircraft.com/radiusplates.html
Most of all no matter how you do the job, be safe and secure at all times as others have said...Enough said............Don B
--------
Zenith 701 #76120
Jabiru 2200A #2456 67 hours
Sensenich Wood 64-PJ-36 Prop
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