My FE2b reproduction..

[hector]

mr mckenzie
may I point out that you started the un-pleasentness, not I, I tried to pay you a compliment & you did your utmost to be-little & insult me, I would suggest that if you wish to continue this argument then you start a seperate thread, so as not to take over Joe's Sopwith Baby thread.

RT "hector".

[John McKenzie]

Tricket , You are as unwelcome here as I suspect you are on any other thread .

I certainly dont need you posting here , ....thank you all the same .....

Good Buy and please don't come back !

[TSJohnson]

Hi John,

I have been perusing your posts and looking at the photos with great interest. May I say sir, your work is positively stunning.

I'm building the full scale Bristol Fighter replica chronicled in another thread on the forum. I could use some assistance with any drawings you may have for your gear legs. I referenced the original Bristol drawings for the undercart on my machine and selected the third design iteration to emulate. They appear remarkably similar to yours. Hence the request to share drawings. Thank you in advance for any help you may provide.

Brilliant work. A Standard for the rest of us to aspire to. Cheers.

[John McKenzie]

Hi Tom , ..Thanks for that , ..I am familiar with your Bristol thread over there .

The actual drawings related to the U/C , being generally about A1 & A0 ..... are far too big to scan on my small scanner ,..However , I will sketch out some of the relavent dimension details and post them here ASAP . ....
I'm not sure that they will be a lot of help " Geometry " -wize as the FE nacelle to which they attach has an approx 4 deg taper ( Wider at front ) , which effects everything ....Nevertheless , the ways and means may be of some use .

The weight of the FE, fully loaded is around 3000 Lbs , probably " Quite a bit " more than your machine will weigh in at , and the sizing of components does reflect this .

Some details , just for now ;..

Gear legs ..(orig.l spec RAF 16b )..Cold drawn (seamless) mild steel tube ..1.75" dia x14 swg ( .080"wall )...

Axil tube ....(orig.l spec RAF 43b )..Cold drawn HT " Axil " tubing ..Air hardened ...Pos about 75 to 90 Ton /sq " Ni Cr Mo tube ...55mm dia (appx 2.165") x 14 swg .

Although you could use 4130 for the V legs , you will probably need to have the bend area annealed first , and also , when bending , to use an articulated mandrell to maintain the tubes circular section ....
The inside bend radius may have to be as advised is available at the/ you're tube benders . ( you'll need a hydraulic bender for these sizes )...

Axil and leg sizes , you'll adjust to suit weight of your machine ...
For the axil , you can probably have the 4130 tube , heat treated after drilling etc. , up to 65 - 75 Ton /sq in.

Get back to you later ,
Regards , John.

[TSJohnson]

John,

Thank you very much for the information. From your description of the gear leg and axle parts I have sized things appropriately. You are quite right about the gross weight of my project. Calculations give me 1650 lbs maximum ramp weight. The 'fiddly' bits are chiefly what I was interested in learning more about. The original Bristol drawings I have do not contain much info about the bungee retaining 'ears', cross bracing wire and spreader bar attachment fittings. My intent is to use 4130 for the gear legs and to have it hydraulically shaped as you suggested. I'll have them heat treated after fabrication. Thanks for validating my thinking. Still waffling on the best method to attach the top of the gear legs to the fuselage fittings. If you have time would you review the attached file and comment? I'd appreciate your feedback.

[John McKenzie]

Hi Tom ..Had a quick look at you attached drawing ...Looks like legs of appx 2" x 1.25" ...? cant make out the section .. Material you state above to be 4130 ? correct .?
Must point out that I am not an expert stress man and so take this mearly as an informed ( or not ) opinion only .........FWIW...

From first glance the joint where the leg meets the lower fuselage tube , looks a little weak on the taking of the compressive loads associated with this junction .
I'd say that the longeron tube , ( presumably of Allum. alloy ) , could do with either an internal or external liner / sleeve to spread the load into this component to avoid local crushing .
As to the actual leg , ...the strap idea is fine for a tension but not so good in transfering the compressive loading and again could be treated somewhat as a strut end , by adding a (welded on ) saddle to the end of the tube , perhaps even with a plate from it , slotted down through the centre of the leg for some 3" or so , and welding .
This would greatly increase the bearing capacity of the joint .

I have done a couple of very rough sketches of the bits you asked for ...
Rather than go through the photobucket bit for everything , which takes a while , ...If you send me ( Via a PM ) you'r e-mail address , I can just e-mail you the sketches , which saves a lot of messing about .

Regards John

[TSJohnson]

Hi John,

Had a complete rethink of the gear and the attachments after reading your post. Thank you for the insights you provided. I'd seen the simple strap retention on a number of aluminum replicas and had similar misgivings but was trying to keep things simple. Glad at the decision to make a proper junction using 4130 steel for legs, lugs and axles instead of 2024-T3.

As for the sleeve suggestion, the original plan (per the drawing) was to double all four longerons from firewall to just aft of the gunners compartment with a sleeve atop the strut. Longerons are 1.125" inside the outer 1.25", then step down from 1.125" to 1" aft of the tail strut attachment point to the sternpost.

Thanks again for your help.

[John McKenzie]

Dear Members ,..( That is ,...those who would normaly look in on this thread ).....

In view of the recent controversy on the " GAAM Sopwith Pup" thread , which seriously questions my integrity regarding this FE2b project ,....

I would be interested to know if there is any benefit in my continuing with this FE2b thread .

Thank you .

Sincerely John McKenzie .

[RobW]

The contractual details of how you and your clients get along are irrelevant to me.

How you research, think about, and actually build things is of great interest to me.

Leave the gory details of dealings with various individuals out of this thread (even if it means ignoring posters that make you feel slighted) and I'll continue to be an avid fan...


Rob

[crankcase]

Originally Posted by RobW

The contractual details of how you and your clients get along are irrelevant to me.

How you research, think about, and actually build things is of great interest to me.

Leave the gory details of dealings with various individuals out of this thread (even if it means ignoring posters that make you feel slighted) and I'll continue to be an avid fan...


Rob

I agree. I just wonder if there is an appropriate place (separate thread? off topic?) that allows a civil discussion to take place, or possibly some kind of amicable arbitration?

the reason i suggest this is that if someone feels wronged for putting lots of work into a project, even if it went beyond contract requirements (anddeadlines) and doesn't feel properly recognized, I would hope they could find a voice and a hearing here without threats and scoldings.

just a few weeks ago we were all witness to a feud between a member here and a member on another site over lozenge patterns. i think we tried to take a high road on this forum without squelching discussion. now we have an intramural spat and i think it should be containable (and ultimately resolvable) without sweeping it under the carpet. Maybe I am being optimistic, maybe there is too much hurt out there.... certainly i am becoming verbose!
marc
p.s. I love the Pup and the FE2b...just love 'em!