Steerable Nose Wheel

[Nigel Heather]

I have just acquired a Mick Reeves Gangster 63 Lite kit.  I am going to convert it to electric but this raises a question (well two) about the undercarriage.

 

• The standard build uses a tricycle undercarriage with the steerable nosewheel fitted in the IC engine mount.  But I won't have that IC engine mount so what would I use instead to mount the nosewheel to the firewall.  Would saddle clamps be okay or are there specialist fittings for just this purpose.
• Would it be better to go tail-dragger instead.  I'm loathed to mess with the original and quite fancy having a trike undercarriage for a change - but just asking.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

[Denis Watkins]

Nexus £2.99

 

https://www.nexusmodels.co.uk/aircraft-accessories/universal-steerable-nose-wheel-bracket-parts-sg00005.html

[Nigel Heather]

Thanks, I'll have to see one of those in the flesh - it doesn't indicate what size rod it supports.

 

But definitely something like this is what I would be looking for.

[Futura57]

https://www.rcworld.co.uk/acatalog/Nose-Wheel-Steering-Arm-and-Mount-RCW0056.html

 

 

 

[gangster]

19 hours ago, Nigel Heather said:

I have just acquired a Mick Reeves Gangster 63 Lite kit.  I am going to convert it to electric but this raises a question (well two) about the undercarriage.

 

• The standard build uses a tricycle undercarriage with the steerable nosewheel fitted in the IC engine mount.  But I won't have that IC engine mount so what would I use instead to mount the nosewheel to the firewall.  Would saddle clamps be okay or are there specialist fittings for just this purpose.
• Would it be better to go tail-dragger instead.  I'm loathed to mess with the original and quite fancy having a trike undercarriage for a change - but just asking.

 

Cheers,

 

Nigel

As a grass field flier I have never bothered with steerable nose wheels. I have mine fixed with saddle clamps

[Kim Taylor]

As per Gangsters comment above, I built my Gangster 63 Lite with a fixed nosewheel because:

1. Like the OP I converted mine to 'lectric and therefore didn't use the engine mount.

2. With the battery in the way, there was bug... I mean very little room to run the linkage and the whole thing became a monster faff, so I left it.

Best of luck with the build OP. It's not the best resolved kit I've ever built, but it flies nicely once you get it built and set up.

Make sure that you read this thread - there are a number of builds and a lot of good tips in there.

 

I sheeted mine all over with 1/16th balsa, as it looked like a starved horse with the ribs all sticking out, and I felt that it was all too flexible as standard.

You may disagree, of course. Have fun😀

Kim

[Nigel Heather]

12 hours ago, Kim Taylor said:

 

I sheeted mine all over with 1/16th balsa, as it looked like a starved horse with the ribs all sticking out, and I felt that it was all too flexible as standard.

You may disagree, of course. Have fun😀

Kim

Thanks for the heads up and tips.  Hadn’t thought about the ‘starved horse’ look, should have done because I dismissed an off scale spitfire kit early this year because of that.  So maybe I’ll sheet mine too - but makes me wonder whether I should have gone for the foam wing version.  Sheeting - does it add much weight - probably not that much?

 

I appreciate that it is an old design so going to need some extra thought to convert to electric.

 

BTW - I paid the extra for the accessory set - overall quite disappointed with the contents and don’t think I will use many of them - though in closer inspection I was happy to see that steerable nose wheel brackets are included for those not using the IC engine mount.

 

So are you saying that you just fixed the nose wheel - if so, how did you lock it in place?

 

 

[gangster]

Simply fixed it with saddle clamps Took a standard nose leg, bent it at right angles about 20mm from the top and put one saddle clamp on the short bit and two on the vertical 

[Kim Taylor]

2 hours ago, Nigel Heather said:

Thanks for the heads up and tips.  Hadn’t thought about the ‘starved horse’ look, should have done because I dismissed an off scale spitfire kit early this year because of that.  So maybe I’ll sheet mine too - but makes me wonder whether I should have gone for the foam wing version.  Sheeting - does it add much weight - probably not that much?

So are you saying that you just fixed the nose wheel - if so, how did you lock it in place?

 

 

I don't think overall that it added any weight, as I was able to do away with the weight I'd had to add to the tail end to balance it before I modded it.

Either way, if it did add weight, the wing is so big it can carry it without any problems.

The nose wheel - Gangster is spot on - bend the supplied leg at right angles near the top, and use saddle clamps into the bulkhead.

Kim