Message #536

Date: Jun 22 2000 18:16:07 EDT
From: josaj@webtv.net (joey jenkins)
Subject: Re: BI-FLY BABY

There is no load on the upper wire fitting during flight unless you
subject it to a negatve G force the only time these wires are loaded is
when the plane is on the ground and mabey possible during a very hard
landing as for modifying your fly-baby bi plane I would recomend that
you stick with the plans as these are proven when you make major changes
you then have a unproven product and you become a real test pilot as for
changing the gear I recomend staying with the stiff gear with the 8:00 x
4's  if you go to a suppesion type gear then you will need to reinforce
the attach points and the bulkheads (the proper way would be to install
a cantelever center section to support this new type gear) which would
absorb the new loads imposed on the attach points. These are just
thoughts I think you should consider as I changed the gear on my
Fly-Baby Biplane and this is the route I had to end up taking as the
flexing of the suppension type gear elongated the attach points in the
bulkheads where the gear attaches so I built a tube steel center section
to support the gear now the problen is solved (add about 150 hours to
build time to manfacture a steel center section to a uncompleted
airframe and about 200 hours to a completed airframe. Truthfully if I
had it to do over again I would stick with eather the original stiff
wooden gear legs or the modified tube legs that Pete shows in his plans
Goodluck
joey