Hi All,
Having run this past the Europa club tri gear mod rep Ian Rickard, it
is his opinion that this is what's called an "Un mod" so does not need PFA mod
approval. The bungee fitting and re-tightening on the tri-gear (I have a tri
classic G-okev ) could possibly be described as a "hernia inducing procedure"
So in an effort to make the job simpler without having to remove cowls, exhaust,
heat shield, and do away with bungee knots this is what I have done. Cut
4 off lengths of bungee (Europa supplied) 16 inches long and 1off 18 inches.
Form
each of them into a ring with 2 inches of overlap then fit an 8mm diameter
wire rope clamp leaving 1 inch sticking out either side of the U- bolt and be
sure to tighten enough to stop slippage. Cut the excess thread off with a
hacksaw
then gently dome the ends to ensure the nuts never comes off and remove
any burrs. To determine the lengths of bungee required I used a test jig made
up of my original nose gear, a nose gear mounting frame and a fabricated base
plate and sides to hold them all together in position. I then inverted it and
loaded 350lb on top where the shimmy damper sits
Now to the fitting.
At this point you need a
1/2 inch internal diameter hook on one end and a tee handle on the other end
of a 1/4 inch dia bar about 10 inches long. I used 1/4 dia threaded bar then
after
creating the hook filed it smooth. To gain more access and remove any load
---From the nose gear frame secure the tail of the Europa to the ground and
support
the front of the plane making it impossible to fall on you.
On page 32-11 of the
manual
regarding safety cable and bungee there is a diagram so I will use it to explain
On the port side of the Europa hook 1 of the 16 inch bungee bands over one
side of the rear end of the nose gear inside the little end stop plate. With
the rope clamp about 1.1/2 inches above the end stop plate to stop it getting
in the way, feed both sides of the band up and over the large diameter tube at
the back of the nose gear mounting frame creating a loop on top between the
smaller diameter tubes welded to it. Feed your brand new hook tool through the
loop then pull it down and over the rear end of nose gear inside the little end
stop plate placing it next to the first loop. Do the same on the starboard
then repeat the process. Finally fit the 18 inch bungee band in a similar way
but starting it on the port side and end it on the starboard.
No more nodding like an apologetic Chinaman.
Regards
Kevin.
|