aftCG
Well-known member
I mentioned my landing gear in my introduction but thought it might be better to create a thread in the tech section where it might be of use to someone.
Shortly after buying my plane I joined the Bellanca group and read up on the failure of the bent U-bolt type of main landing gear hardware and how the factory recommended replacement of the old type with the newer style which resembles a piece of flat bar stock with two holes, and inspection of the bolts every 500 hours.
I wasn't sure what type of hardware I had, and the logs showed them last being replaced in 1988. Given my desire to land on many unpaved runways and to possibly provide some flight instruction in my plane I decided that it would be good piece of mind to include the upgrade and replacing all the hardware.
I was also experiencing tail wheel shimmy on some landings and using the ACA publication showing how the pivot axis should be aligned it was clear my tail wheel leaf springs had sagged.
Main gear first
Here's a link to the Aircraft Spruce catalog page showing the hardware set up:
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/lgpages/lghardware.php?PANEL=325
I have previously read where people thought the bolts were ACA only. Those are MS bolts and not from ACA, but I should warn that the bolts are $29.50 each (!).
The Q&A section has a question from a customer asking if the bolts are included in the new configuration and they are told "no". That turns out to be false information. The $177 price (as of this writing) includes the bolts but not washers or nuts. I was able to return my extra four bolts and then cough up for $21.85 each on the nuts. Rumors of that price including dinner and a movie are exaggerated.
Maybe like me you aren't sure if you have the upgraded style. Fear not, because the flat bar and bolt heads are clearly visible from outside the plane. Getting to the inboard, single bolt location on each leg required my mechanic to put a small inspection cover in the fabric. They are hardly noticeable.
Moving to the tail
Here is one I thought would be easy. I had carefully examined the back of the plane looking for the reasons why my tail wheel was sagging a bit and the only anomaly I found was that I had no rubber pad (as shown in the parts manual). In place of it was a small wedge, compensating for the fact that it leans off to one side when viewed from the back. I'm quite sure I stumbled across others having reported this issue when looking in the Bellanca Citabria forum archives but can't find it now.
It occurred to me that the reason we get this is because of that boot full of right rudder we hold before the tail comes up. We think we're zeroing out the forces but we are obviously not. I had assumed that the leaf springs had not only sagged, but had twisted too. I was sure it would all be corrected by new leaf springs.
Only it wasn't
My mechanic installed the pile of new bits and the tail wheel leans just like there should be a wedge in there. It is worth noting that the factory has also replaced the small bent U-bolt design on the tail wheel with a smaller cousin of the bar stock + two bolts used on the main gear. I had obtained the old style from Wag or Spruce before I knew that.
My mechanic said he was going to call ACA and I ended up doing the same because I knew he was busy and not sure when he would get around to it. First I'm going to say the factory is just as nice as anyone has ever said. They do not stand to make a million dollars from my 53 year old aircraft and yet they took my call.
The short version is that there is no ACA approved fix or kit of parts for this condition. He alluded to the fact that Aeronca, Bellanca and ACA have not been on the same page about several issues without specifying that this was one of them. He did offer suggestions as to where we could find problems. Bent aircraft is one (it's not), broken rudder post right below the lower hinge (great place to look but also not my problem). If you get down and really grovel around under the back of the plane it appears that the metal plate with the ears was welded on slightly crooked (and our evil friend trigonometry exaggerates the effect). The factory suggestion was that minor rigging problems could be worked around by torquing one side a bit tighter, squishing the rubber pad. We would need to crush one edge of the rubber completely flat to achieve alignment that way
The current plan is to use the same wedge, and when I get around to stripping the fabric off this is one of those things that can be made perfect.
Shortly after buying my plane I joined the Bellanca group and read up on the failure of the bent U-bolt type of main landing gear hardware and how the factory recommended replacement of the old type with the newer style which resembles a piece of flat bar stock with two holes, and inspection of the bolts every 500 hours.
I wasn't sure what type of hardware I had, and the logs showed them last being replaced in 1988. Given my desire to land on many unpaved runways and to possibly provide some flight instruction in my plane I decided that it would be good piece of mind to include the upgrade and replacing all the hardware.
I was also experiencing tail wheel shimmy on some landings and using the ACA publication showing how the pivot axis should be aligned it was clear my tail wheel leaf springs had sagged.
Main gear first
Here's a link to the Aircraft Spruce catalog page showing the hardware set up:
https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/lgpages/lghardware.php?PANEL=325
I have previously read where people thought the bolts were ACA only. Those are MS bolts and not from ACA, but I should warn that the bolts are $29.50 each (!).
The Q&A section has a question from a customer asking if the bolts are included in the new configuration and they are told "no". That turns out to be false information. The $177 price (as of this writing) includes the bolts but not washers or nuts. I was able to return my extra four bolts and then cough up for $21.85 each on the nuts. Rumors of that price including dinner and a movie are exaggerated.
Maybe like me you aren't sure if you have the upgraded style. Fear not, because the flat bar and bolt heads are clearly visible from outside the plane. Getting to the inboard, single bolt location on each leg required my mechanic to put a small inspection cover in the fabric. They are hardly noticeable.
Moving to the tail
Here is one I thought would be easy. I had carefully examined the back of the plane looking for the reasons why my tail wheel was sagging a bit and the only anomaly I found was that I had no rubber pad (as shown in the parts manual). In place of it was a small wedge, compensating for the fact that it leans off to one side when viewed from the back. I'm quite sure I stumbled across others having reported this issue when looking in the Bellanca Citabria forum archives but can't find it now.
It occurred to me that the reason we get this is because of that boot full of right rudder we hold before the tail comes up. We think we're zeroing out the forces but we are obviously not. I had assumed that the leaf springs had not only sagged, but had twisted too. I was sure it would all be corrected by new leaf springs.
Only it wasn't
My mechanic installed the pile of new bits and the tail wheel leans just like there should be a wedge in there. It is worth noting that the factory has also replaced the small bent U-bolt design on the tail wheel with a smaller cousin of the bar stock + two bolts used on the main gear. I had obtained the old style from Wag or Spruce before I knew that.
My mechanic said he was going to call ACA and I ended up doing the same because I knew he was busy and not sure when he would get around to it. First I'm going to say the factory is just as nice as anyone has ever said. They do not stand to make a million dollars from my 53 year old aircraft and yet they took my call.
The short version is that there is no ACA approved fix or kit of parts for this condition. He alluded to the fact that Aeronca, Bellanca and ACA have not been on the same page about several issues without specifying that this was one of them. He did offer suggestions as to where we could find problems. Bent aircraft is one (it's not), broken rudder post right below the lower hinge (great place to look but also not my problem). If you get down and really grovel around under the back of the plane it appears that the metal plate with the ears was welded on slightly crooked (and our evil friend trigonometry exaggerates the effect). The factory suggestion was that minor rigging problems could be worked around by torquing one side a bit tighter, squishing the rubber pad. We would need to crush one edge of the rubber completely flat to achieve alignment that way
The current plan is to use the same wedge, and when I get around to stripping the fabric off this is one of those things that can be made perfect.
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