Would you heat and straighten a Europa tri-gear undercarriage leg if it had
become
slightly bent as a consequence of a heavy landing? I thought not, and neither
would I for the simple reason that I know nothing about how steel responds
to very high temperatures. It might become softer, or it might become brittle.
However the heavy landing in question didn't involve me, nor any Europa. A
friend
landing a recent version of the Rans S6 with supposedly unbendable legs in
gusty conditions, unfortunately got caught by a gust and departed the runway.
His nose-wheel leg snapped, the propeller got smashed with a little engine power
applied and sideways drifting to the right caused the right wheel to dig into
the earth (mud on tyre sidewall) causing the right undercarriage leg to bow
slightly.
The right wheel now has a few degrees of positive camber (top outwards) and the
right leg lower end is now closer to the aircraft centreline, causing the
aircraft
to lean a little to the left. After speaking to the Rans agent, who says
that he's never heard of the latest legs bending and suspects that there will
be distortion in the airframe, we've invited our inspector to come and take a
close look. Several experienced sets of eyes have already looked very closely
at the airframe and careful measurements have been made, thus far not revealing
the slightest evidence of airframe distortion or cracking anywhere in the
vicinity
of main leg or nose leg attachments.
There is a strong temptation to get the local blacksmith to come and apply some
intense heat while we pull the wheel sideways, or push down on the bow, until
it stands vertical and the aircraft stands level again. I'm not going to make
encouraging noises about doing this, but my friend wants to give it a try. If
the aircraft were mine and knowing how light it is being a micro(ultra)light,
I would give it a try before spending over 800 on another leg. The bow really
is only a few degrees. But can you tell me, would it be SIGNIFICANTLY weaker?
Please answer if you have knowledge and/or experience in these matters. Rather
not reply thanks, if you're only expressing your gut feelings. And another
thought
has just come to me; it would be simpler to do heating and bending in situ,
where the outcome is readily seen. Removing the leg and going back and forth
between workshop and hangar would likely give a less accurate result.
Of course we're already preparing to remove the Jabiru engine in readiness for
sending it to the agent for shock load testing. If you have other advice, all
help gratefully received thanks.
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