Can Tri Pacer Gear be used for Conventional Gear conversion on a Tri Pacer?

[JOHNSON]

A friend told me that there is an STC that uses Tri Pacer gear turned around as a conventional gear conversion. So the left becomes the right and the right becomes the left, and a Tail wheel is added. Does anyone know of such an STC?

Thanks.

[GeronimoDriver]

Never heard that one before, the forward attach point moves forward and without measuring it I am pretty sure PA-22 gear is wider at the top than PA-20 gear. That idea also would have problems with the gear fitting in the wells in the belly. You'd have to change the tapered edge on the legs as well...

[Curly]

Johnson - I think that one is an "urban myth". I was told the same thing when restoring a Tripacer in the late 70's but when I went to try it I found that it simply would not work.

GD is right - the two legs are entirely different - the tripacer leg is at least 4" wider at the top than a Pacer. I am in the process of changing Tripacer legs to Pacer with lots of cutting, shutting and welding (experimental). However I am rapidly coming to the conclusion it would be easier to simply build two new legs from scratch. Luckily I have a set of Univair Pacer legs to copy and have made jigs from them to keep everything straight and where it ought to be.

[Bruce]

I know of 2 experimental sw that reversed the gear. Still a lot of fab work.

[Curly]

Bruce - any idea how they got the wheels to fit in the correct spot?
If you weld on new front attach brackets using the front cluster (as the Pacer gear uses) the wheels are too far aft and the rear attach point is not on a cluster which makes it very suss.

[stevesaircraft(Bri)]

Probably thinking of the old Javlin V-6 STOL conversion. Except that the gear is highly modified with a forward sweep of the front tube and welded together. Still bolted in the original T-Pacer gear position...

Brian.

[Stephen]

Probably thinking of the old Javlin V-6 STOL conversion. Except that the gear is highly modified with a forward sweep of the front tube and welded together. Still bolted in the original T-Pacer gear position...

Brian.

Gotta wonder if these conversions held up?? Lots of stress on the frame with that gear arrangement and heavy engine.

[Pacer 24C]

"Old wives tale" about turning the gear around - However back when I was at NAS Whidbey in 1970 - we had alittle flight office for the newly formed Flying Club and a buddy built a nice plastic model of a Tri-Pacer - when he wasn't looking - we cut off the nose gear and turned the mains around - it took him awhile to notice - but boy was he torqued!!! Sure looked nice as a Pacer!!

[Fisherman]

The Super Pacer or Bushmaster uses the Tri-Pacer gear when it is converted to tail wheel configuration. The left and right gears stay on the original sides so that there is no change to the bungee set up. Front and rear up-rights are replaced in a jig with heaver tubing and it sits four inches higher on the gear than the original gear for more propeller clearance for the 180 hp engine or Borer propeller for 150/160 engine. The new gear sweeps forward six inches to transfer weight to the nose of the airplane. Eddie Trimmer's STC looks to be stronger but it puts more weight on the tail, to the point that it is too heavy for one person to handle on ski's. Looking at the conversion you might think that you just switch sides but that will not work.
Colin

[dplunkt]

Pacer 24C....
4009

[jay heil]

hahha like the new tail wheel assy cept your wheel pants on backwards

[Pacer 24C]

Now that is a REAL bush tailwheel!! Now just lengthen the mains 4 ft!!!

[JOHNSON]

I pressed my friend some and he provided this artical for his basis for the information on using the tri pacer gear turned around. It is mentioned in the 7th or 8th paragraph.

http://www.piperowner.org/articles/featured-aircraft/29-the-pacer-and-tri-pacer.html

I flip back and forth every three days or so as to weather I want to go conventional gear or not. I got into aviation restoring and building Lucombe aircraft at the Luscombe Foundation back in the 90's so a tricycle gear just doesn't seem like a proper airplane (Although Luscombe did do a couple of tricycle gear prototypes). But alas I will most probably leave it a tri pacer, and some day sell it for a pacer. Work wont let up enough to go get my project untill September, and that just feeds my disease more.

[Pacer 24C]

Well unfortunately the article was just incorrect - because you just can not turn the gear around (unless you cut it all up into pieces and reweld into a PA20 configuration - which would be more work than building it from scratch) The article is also wrong in stating that the FAA recognizes a PA22/20 - the FAA still and only recognizes the craft as a PA22. The PA22/20 is just field term used by us owners and companies like Univair. Understandable that your friend was miss informed by the article.

[Curly]

dplunkt - you meany! How could you do that to MTS - the dear little thing. :icon_smile:

I restored Mike in the late 70's after flying it for over 700 hours. Now owned by Debora Fanning and based at Moorabbin airport. I have that photograph (plus the one before restoration) hanging on my bedroom wall. Lots of very happy memories (and one not so happy - don't taxi crosswind in 20kt winds) associated with that PA22.

[Steve Pierce]

I worked on one that was done via field approval. The structure they added to accept the rear fitting of the landing gear was in adequate and bent the lower longerons. The gear ends up shorter as well. There is a thread here on this subject with pictures of the fuselage.

[dplunkt]

Curly, that picture (not mine) looks almost like art. That sounds like a fun little plane. I've only got about 80 hours in mine and am hoping for 700 more.

[Steve Pierce]

Structure added to turn Tri-Pacer gear around and make a Pacer. Did not work, found bent and the airplane does not sit as tall in that configuration. Less prop clearance.
20692

20693

[Jim]

Steve,

Aside from the bungees in the wrong place, why would they not attempt to use the original mounting locations? I remember hearing of swapping their sides to use in a conversion before using the Univair kit.

[Steve Pierce]

The gear would be much further aft on the fuselage than if configured like the Pacer.
20694

[Jim]

Thanks Steve, the picture sure makes that obvious now. I wonder if the swapping sides suggestion came from a Cessna driver.