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Gear legs

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Gear legs

Postby crwallace1 » Wed Aug 09, 2023 11:57 am

Has anyone installed Tracy O’Brien gear legs in their B model TD? He says they’re designed for a legacy, but “should” fit a B. Is this a better solution than the standard titanium legs?
Waiex B
Slow build
Standard gear
Jabiru 3300
N333YX reserved
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Re: Gear legs

Postby Bryan Cotton » Wed Aug 09, 2023 12:00 pm

I can't answer the question, but I am happy with my standard Ti gear legs.
Bryan Cotton
Poplar Grove, IL C77
Waiex 191 N191YX
Taildragger, Aerovee, acro ailerons
dual sticks with sport trainer controls
Prebuilt spars and machined angle kit
Year 2 flying and approaching 200 hours December 23
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Re: Gear legs

Postby jaflint » Wed Aug 09, 2023 5:40 pm

I have TOB gear legs on my A-model. I can’t say they’re better than stock since these are the only legs I’ve had on it. With 2400+ landings and my fair share of clunkers, they still work and check good visually.
Jason Flint
Sonex #1655
3.0L Corvair
1140+ hours
2500+ landings!
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Re: Gear legs

Postby fastj22 » Wed Aug 09, 2023 8:46 pm

crwallace1 wrote:Has anyone installed Tracy O’Brien gear legs in their B model TD? He says they’re designed for a legacy, but “should” fit a B. Is this a better solution than the standard titanium legs?

I have them on my Super B. They fit.

John Gillis
SEL Private, Comm Glider, Tow pilot (Pawnee Driver)
Waiex N116YX, Jabiru 3300, Tail dragger,
First flight, 3/16/2013. 403 hours and climbing.
Home: CO15. KOSH x 5
Flying a B-Model Conversion (Super Bee Baby!)
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Re: Gear legs

Postby peter anson » Thu Aug 10, 2023 8:54 am

Steel has a much higher elastic modulus than titanium (nearly twice the value) which means they are much stiffer and so less forgiving of a hard landing. The titanium legs are a good choice for giving you a softer ride, however I know people who are happy with the stiffer steel gear legs.

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Re: Gear legs

Postby GordonTurner » Thu Aug 10, 2023 4:02 pm

Hi Peter, nice to see you around, hope things are good.

The steel legs are tapered and hollow, the titanium legs constant and solid. Care to briefly comment on how this difference affects the comparison?

Cheers, Gordon
Waiex 158 New York. N88YX registered.
3.0 Liter Corvair built, run, and installed.
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Re: Gear legs

Postby Bryan Cotton » Thu Aug 10, 2023 4:27 pm

Would be interesting to compare weights if anyone has that info.
Bryan Cotton
Poplar Grove, IL C77
Waiex 191 N191YX
Taildragger, Aerovee, acro ailerons
dual sticks with sport trainer controls
Prebuilt spars and machined angle kit
Year 2 flying and approaching 200 hours December 23
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Re: Gear legs

Postby Area 51% » Thu Aug 10, 2023 8:23 pm

A new undrilled TOB gear let weighs: 2605 grams
91.92 oz
5.745 lbs
Just happen to have one in the shop.
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Re: Gear legs

Postby rbarber » Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:32 pm

Titanium would weigh about half of that (~2.2-2.4 lbs each). Failure mode would also be very different; Solid bar would simply bend when it reaches the yield point (plastic deformation). The hollow one will collapse/buckle. The hollow one would also require more careful design so stress concentrators don't have any noteworthy affect. That being said, If the proper steel was used, designed carefully, it would perform equally or better than the solid titanium legs, right up until it reached the yield point.

R.
Doing dumb stuff in Sexy Hexy Since 2009...
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Re: Gear legs

Postby Bryan Cotton » Fri Aug 11, 2023 1:43 pm

rbarber wrote:Titanium would weigh about half of that (~2.2-2.4 lbs each).

Wow, for that weight penalty I don't understand why anyone would consider the TOB gear legs.

Edit: using the numbers above that is a 6.7 lb increase!
Bryan Cotton
Poplar Grove, IL C77
Waiex 191 N191YX
Taildragger, Aerovee, acro ailerons
dual sticks with sport trainer controls
Prebuilt spars and machined angle kit
Year 2 flying and approaching 200 hours December 23
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Bryan Cotton
 
Posts: 5035
Joined: Mon Jul 01, 2013 9:54 pm
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