Brodhead Pietenpol Association

The plans mention "flatten" the end of the tube where it will attach to the lug that's attached to the fuselage. I can't imagine how I'll be able to flatten the end, or how it'll spread out to be 2.5" long to fit at the lug.

My plan is to cut a slit into the tube and weld in a 2.5" wide 1/4" piece of 4130. That''ll give a good weld surface area for the two lugs and eliminate my problem of flattening the end. I'm just not sure how long that piece should be; 4"? 6"? The tube will end maybe an inch or so from the lug.

Like the photo I attached.

Ideas? Thanks.

John C

John,

The picture is my landing gear assembly. I'll be happy to measure and post the dimensions of the insert.

It may be a day or two before I can make it to the hangar.

Feel free to send me a PM. We can set up a facetime phone call from the hangar to let you see any aspects of the gear that you want to have measured.

Cheers, Ken

Kinda thought I recognized those turned wood 'streamline' blocks at the bungees ;o)

KenBickers wrote: ↑Wed Mar 16, 2022 9:46 am John,

The picture is my landing gear assembly. I'll be happy to measure and post the dimensions of the insert.

It may be a day or two before I can make it to the hangar.

Feel free to send me a PM. We can set up a facetime phone call from the hangar to let you see any aspects of the gear that you want to have measured.

Cheers, Ken

Sounds good Ken. Thanks!

taildrags wrote: ↑Wed Mar 16, 2022 10:35 am Kinda thought I recognized those turned wood 'streamline' blocks at the bungees ;o)

Yes, that's a picture of the "Dream Catcher" gear that was originally built for Arlene Walsh and in your care for many years. I think about the history of that gear frequently.

I'm happy to share anything about it that might be helpful to another Piet builder.

Cheers, Ken

On N34KP Ken heated the tubes and then squeezed them between aluminum blocks (with nice large radius) screwed to vise jaws. He told me there was a strip of wood set to the proper angle attached to the vise to eyeball the tube angle to. I don't know how many attempts it took. He squeezed the tubes and then cut the slots in afterwards.

Richard Roller wrote: ↑Wed Mar 16, 2022 11:57 am On N34KP Ken heated the tubes and then squeezed them between aluminum blocks (with nice large radius) screwed to vise jaws. He told me there was a strip of wood set to the proper angle attached to the vise to eyeball the tube angle to. I don't know how many attempts it took. He squeezed the tubes and then cut the slots in afterwards.20201128_135954.jpg20201128_140000.jpg

Thank you for explaining how it was done and the photos!

John C