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RV7A nose gear

B

brister

Well Known Member
I built an RV7A 14 years ago and flew it in and out of grass strips, no problems worked great. I purchased a rv7 and I’m converting to 7A I’m looking for reviews on the new design used with the elastomer pads. Is it an improvement to the old gear and is it preferred.
 
Resale

I have the old style as well and am perfectly happy with it. My friend is building a 7A and has installed the new nose wheel. I like the new design and would definitely use it in a new build. If nothing else, the new nose wheel will be valuable when selling the airplane.

-Andy
 
Resale

Thanks, do you know if it has improved the rate of nose wheel incidents since the installations? Great point on resale value.
 
New style nose gear

I'm in a similar situation - considering upgrading to the new style nose gear. My RV-6A is still under construction and I already have the finishing kit with the old style nose gear and engine mount. The main obstacle is the cost of the new nose gear and mount which was $3,250 plus shipping when I checked over a year ago. But if it saves a flip and a broken neck I think it is worth it!
It's probably too early in the life (2019) of the new style nose gear to have adequate data to confirm if it is better and safer. But it is now the "standard" in the Vans kits.
Many people are happy with the old style nose gear and have not had any problems, so there may be an element of luck involved.
 
Been flying my 7A since 2008 - after looking over the scope of the change, decided to stay with the original gear for now. Not giving me any problems.

When it comes time to do the engine and everything is apart, I'll take another look. I'm also curious how much real safety improvement there is.
 
nose gear in vid

Ralph Inkster said:
This 7A was upgraded to the new style nose gear just before this couple's epic trip this winter.
Watch this video & at time stamp 9:05 you decide whether the nose gear leg update is worth it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_nMaPNqiX0
Click to expand...

Nice trip video, seems like they had fun. The landing looked harder than is ideal - no holdoff on the nose wheel and it seemed to come down hard and rebound a bit. However there was no incident; wonder how it would have been with the old style gear?
 
I am finishing the conversion in my 6A. The original single-bolt attachment wallowed out three times and was not repairable. I am based on a pretty rough field and taxi with the stick in my chest - I am also vigilant about delaying the nose wheel touchdown.

My engine is now 3/4" further forward and the cowl replacement is the last part of my conversion... Redesign of the throttle and mixture actuators was a bit of a pain as well....

I like the new design
 
I have the old style nose gear on my 7A. No problems but..... I never land on grass and baby that thing all I can including minimal braking and longer roll outs. I agree with a previous post that when the engine is off for overhaul etc then I might consider it but that will likely be years down the road and almost certainly by then be someone else's decision.
 
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