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Composite-ARF Yak-55 SP (2.6m span)
Landing Gear
The 1st job is to fit the landing gear legs (wheel pants can
be done later) - and you can leave these in place, as they
will protect the bottom of the fuselage during assembly.
Composite-ARF developed a new carbon fibre landing gear
for the Yak 2.6m. It consists of 45 deg laminated carbon
fibre cloth and a huge number of carbon tows inside, all
made under vacuum and heat-cured. However it is still light
weight, and retains enough flexibility to take the shock out
of any landings that are less-than-perfect!
The legs are fitted through the glassfibre sleeves that are
installed at the factory, and bolted to the plywood bulk-
heads and plates shown here with M6 x 20mm bolts and
13mm Ø washers. Both main legs are identical, and can be
used either side.
Fit the wheelpants to the legs as follows: Set the fuselage
on a level surface with the tailwheel (optional tailwheel
assembly available from C-ARF) in place. Fit the wheel-
pants over the M6 x 70mm axle bolts, and also temporarily
fit the wheels, and screw the bolts into the threaded inserts
that are moulded into the legs during manufacture.
Adjust the angle of the wheel pants so that the tops of both
are parallel with each other, and the bottom edges angle
upwards a little, as shown in the photo at the top of page
14. When satisfied with the angle, temporarily tack the
wheelpants to the carbon landing gear legs with a small
drop of thin CA. Remove the wheels and axle bolts and
then secure the wheelpants to the legs with 2 small sheet-
metal screws (2.2 x 10mm), into 1.8mm Ø holes drilled into
the ends of the carbon legs.
You can use any 5" main wheels of your choice. Kavan
wheels are very lightweight, but not very durable on asphalt
runways, and Dubro wheels are a little heavier but much
more solid, and this is what we use at C-ARF. The head of
the axle bolt goes on the outside of the wheel. The order of
the items on the bolt is: Bolthead, washer, wheel hub, 2 or
3 washers, M6 nut, washer, fibreglass wheelpant, carbon
landing gear leg. You may need to adjust the number of
washers, or add a 6mm wheel collar behind the wheel to
maintain free wheel movement and centre the wheel
against the wheelpant, depending on the actual wheels
used. A drop of loctite on the M6 axle bolt where it goes into
the threaded insert in the leg is good insurance.
Any standard tailwheel assembly from a good hobby store
is suitable for your Extra. The tail wheel setup shown in
techsupport@composite-arf.com
Finished in 2 hours
(above) The main landing gear legs
are bolted to plywood bulkheads
that are factory-installed.
(below) Wheel axles are M6 bolts,
which fit into threaded inserts in
the moulded carbon legs.
(above and below) The wheel
pant is held to the main leg with 2
2.2 x 10mm sheet-metal screws as
shown here.
13
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