Short Stirling & RAF Bomber Command Forum

Dear Guy,

On behalf of all the members on the forum, our thoughts are with you and your wife.
Best wishes,
John, Bruno and all the members.

Guy,
Every sympathy in your situation.
In case you missed it - and find you have a few minutes to watch the model flight video, here's the link again...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4W9wntESP7U
Robin

Well all has been very quiet since my Stirling's first flight. By the time it happened I was well into building a DH Fox Moth (due to appear in the October issue of QEFI) and then got started on a DHC4 Caribou so it was only a week or so back that there was a flurry of activity as I changed the electic switching system so that the retracting gear operated more reliably.

Unfortunately although it worked excellently static in the workshop I did not think to tension the springs that held the doors open sufficiently to allow for the vagaries of airflow once airborne and as soon as I tried to lift the gear once the model was airborne one of the doors got blown against the gear jamming it so that I could neither fully retract the gear to make a belly landing or get both legs fully down. So with one leg half up and the other full down I flew around for a while so my friend could get some airborne shots of it and while I put off the dreaded moment when a landing of sorts would have to be made.

Fortunately the model flies very slowly - one could say 'majestically' - so I dropped her as gently as I could into the long grass just short of the mown strip. I was much relieved to find that actually there was very little damage done. It was limited to what you see in the photos below and I now have to decide what to do in repairing the damage. Do I rebuild it as I had it before but use stronger springs - or do I try to do the proper scale thing and install hinged operating rods which would prevent any possibility of a recurrence of the problem?

So does anybody know what the arrangement of the rods ought to be please?
Are drawings still available that detail junction positions of the legs and connections to the doors?

So sad to see the damage.... but then again the mighty Stirling suffered dreadfully from undercarriage problems so your model could be said to have an extra touch of realism! Praise must also be levied on the skipper of your aircraft to have done such a magnificent job of landing the aircraft with no injury to crew and little damage to the airframe!

Yes Guy - I have repeated that mantra to myself several times! ... it's only scale...

I didn't post pictures that were exactly inspiring as I was hoping someone would know how the gear doors were operated so that I can include the properly positioned operating struts while doing the repairs.

Here is a brief story as to how it happened - with nicer pics!

1. Even before I took off the problem was foreshadowed by the angle of the port inner door - which I could not see from my standpoint.
2. Take off effected safely. Pilot blissfully unaware of impending problem until operation of retract switch.
3. Approaching strip about nine or ten minutes and several fruitless attempts to get the gear to respond later. (The background is in focus!)
4. Starboard wing high to put the weight down on the 'good' wheel. Aiming for rough grass just short of the strip.
5. And it's all over - and not one of the props damaged!

Only 3 at a time? And placed in reverse order? Tut-tut!

Hi Robin

the following clip may illustrate how the u/c operates and the AP extract below shows how the doors attach to the beams

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nv5yXbUuGw

John L

John L,
Thank you for the info. I looked at the YouTube video but was unable to figure out how the orange bits of metal passed apparently through other parts... or how their purpose was supposed to be achieved.

As my engineering skills are minimal and I have not managed to do that despite it being theoretically possible at the subatomic level I have been peering at your attachment. This shows parts J and K which despite the lack of legend for the illustration do appear to represent the parts I am looking for. Partly because my knowledge of geometry suggests that that is where they should be... and they appear simple enough to be replicated within my limited skills.

A simple ball link on main leg should give enough latitude to allow for two-way rotation... I will give that a try.
Thanks again.
Robin

Hi Robin

I've found another diagram showing an exploded view of the landing gear in the MkIII AP. The only trouble is is that it's A3 so I'll have to wait until I'm back at work week tomorrow to scan it in as I'm off this week

cheers

John L

You could be on your own at work tomorrow John... the rest of us have a bank holiday!

Anyway don't go to a lot of trouble - I think I have enough to go on for a bit. I have just been having a look at the possibilities and can see it's tighter than I would like as the wheel passes the door operating rod's upper fixing at its thickest part (the tyre).

My idea of using a ball link could be doomed - they may be too bulky to get clearance.