Luscombe 8A project 5

[Gearup]

Cleaned up joints and added first round of filler.

[Gearup]

To change it up a bit, I am starting on the landing gear. 

The Luscombe has an odd gear. It is a welded steel structure covered with an aluminium fairing. The left gear is a simple pivot at the top with an arm extending into the centre of the aircraft where an arm attaches to a single dampened spring. Of course as the gear pivots at the top, the spring assembly is displaced sideways on its pivot mount as the arm describes an arc. 

The right gear can't just pivot like the left gear because the spring needs to move opposite to the deflection from the left gear leg. It would not move as it is now a triangular connection... Additionally each gear leg is connected to the bottom of the spring from the axel via a streamlined brace rod. There is no flex.

So to accommodate the arcing movement of the gear leg, the right gear is double jointed by hanging from links that allow the whole right gear to swing outward as the landing gear assembles move. Works great, but it does have bushings that wear out and cause an odd rattle from the right gear on touch down. At least you can still get parts....

The gear was also pretty "dead" on landing so it made the Luscombe easy to wheel on without bouncing.

So, I soldered up the gear legs joined with a solid 'v" of brass sheet acting as the fairing. Each gear side was made from six pieces of brass: two inner pins, two tubes, one axel and one fairing. I'll fill and sand the gear to give it the aluminium fairing look. The mounting pins are long for now as are the axels. 

The first picture shows the tiny bits of solder that with a few passes from the torch make a nice neat joint....usually.

Fraser

[lastvautour]

Nicely done and way out of my league.

Lou