Onex main gear

[rpf]

Hi Guys,

My landing gear, when I taxi (or just pull my plane forward 10-20feet), spreads outward quite a bit. Like there’s too much toe out. This is an older kit(2014) that I purchased a few years ago. I read some old posts that there might have been a bad batch of onex gear??? Because, per onex plans, the axles are press fit into the gear so there doesn’t appear to a way to adjust toe in or out. Does anyone else have this issue with their gear? Or is there way to adjust toe out? I’ll try and attach a couple pictures. One showing the gear normal and one showing it spread out after pulling the plane forward about 20 feet.

Thanks

[Onex107]

I received my Onex kit 107 in late 2012 and finished it in early 2014. But when I attached the main gear, put the wheels on and rolled it out of the garage the right wheel stuttered as it rolled. It was a nose dragger but that shouldn't matter. I didn't have the skins on the stub wings yet so I could site down past the spar and see the angle of the toe out. Roughly measured it was 7 degrees. I took the gear off and checked the gear for square and found that the last section where the axle goes is supposed to be bent from the straight side of the gear leg and the right one was bent from the tapered side of the leg causing it to toe out. Sonex didn't believe me on the phone but after shipping it back they found the same thing and sent a new gear. Big pain re-drilling the same bolt holes. Yours is possibly the same but on both sides. You can do a standard wheel alignment, like spelled out in the Cessna parts manual, by putting center lines on the hangar floor and mounting straight edges to the wheels and measuring for parallel.

[rpf]

Onex107, thanks for responding. You mention doing a wheel alignment but I don’t see how I could adjust the toe in/out with the sonex gear? If the axle’s were bolted on they could easily be shimmed.

[N190YX]

My Cessna 170 (tail dragger) did the same thing, as I found out due to toe out. As I recall it was fixed with shims to the correct wheel alignment.

[Onex107]

The Sonex alum gear cannot be adjusted for toe in without bending which I don't advise. I suggested checking the alinement to provide you with the info you need to talk to Sonex.

[Bryan Cotton]

Cessnas use tapered shims for alignment. Seems like that could be an option for the Onex. I can understand wanting Sonex to make it right also, if they had a bad batch of gear.

[rpf]

Hi Brian, I don’t think you can shim or adjust the axles on a Onex. They’re press fit into the axles.

[Bryan Cotton]

Hi Brian, I don’t think you can shim or adjust the axles on a Onex. They’re press fit into the axles.

My misunderstanding, thanks.

[13brv3]

I haven't noticed any toe in/out issues, but dragged mine straight out of the hangar today and took a look at the gear. I didn't notice anything different. With around 200 landings, they do appear to be sagging a bit, but that's gravity for you :-)

I'd like to have a little taller gear for prop clearance (Rotax) and also for the stall attitude. The plane hits decidedly tail first if you try to full stall it. O'Keefe used to make a special order gear, but they appear to have retired.

Rusty

[Onex107]

An easy way to check your toe out is to remove the wheel on one side, place a board across the bottom of the gear, and check to see if the axle is parallel to the board and if the gear leg is square with the board. If it isn't Sonex owes you a new gear.