How bad are they?

[MN_flyer1]

So lets say a small adjustment is needed. What is the best way to get it corrected?

I haven't looked into mine yet but suspect it could be better. Every time I have had and issue it headed for the ditch on the left.....

[MrWayne]

As I said earlier, there are at least 3 wall thicknesses of axle tubing. My axles have a .095 wall thickness. They were not to difficult to bend cold by using a high strength steel bar machined to fit into the axle just far enough to get past the brake bake backing plate mount and a 12 foot cheater bar. It appears that my axles bent between the brake mounting flange and where the tube cluster joins the axle. I was guessing that the gear legs above the axle would bend first but they appear to be much stronger then the axles and also spring a LOT while putting a one or two deg. bend in the axle. Mind you, I am not telling you what changes to make to your plane. Only what I did to MY plane. If you have the thicker wall tube axles this procedure is not going to work. I see no other practical alternative but to remove the fabric from the gear legs and heat the axle between the backing plate flange and the tube cluster. Either a lot of fire protection blankets etc. and lots of eyes with fire extinguishers or removing the gear legs and placing them in a straightening fixture seems appropriate.A word of caution, slow heat and especially slow cool. Chrome molly steel gets very hard and very brittle when quenched with water after welding or torch heating to cherry red. I strongly suggest you have an expert do this job should you choose to. More than one plane has burned to the ground by someone with an oxy-acetylene torch in his hand. WAyne

[BrettL]

Any suggestions as far as how to lift and support the fuselage while working on the gear legs? My Vagabond appears to have considerable toe-in. The gear spreads and tightens the bungees when backed into the hangar. I had it towed it backwards once with an electro-tug and could see trails being left by the tires on the pavement.

[d.grimm]

Brett,
I've put the tailwheel on a stand and wrapped one of those
heavy straps around the engine mount at the firewall and used
a engine hoist. They can be rented if you don't have one available.
Good time for new bungees when you are that far along, and new gear
bolts are never a bad idea.
Dave

[MrWayne]

With my Pacer I tied the tail wheel and the other main gear down and used a machined bar inside the axle. As I recall, the Vag. has 1 1/4 " dia. axles. I don't know what the inside dia. of the axle is but A bar with that small of O.D. would most likely need to be made of heat treated spring steel to be strong enough to bend the axle before it bent. I have been told of others removing the wheel and using a pipe over the axle to make the adjustment. I have not tried this method. It has a couple disadvantages. It is harder to measure the progress and if the axle tube bends outside of the brake backing plate the brake drums/discs will be misaligned with the brake shoes/pads. Also, the fuselage of my Pacer proved to be strong enough to withstand the considerable reactive forces applied in the process of straightening the axles. I have no idea how strong the Vag. fuselage is.

[tnowak]

My Vag also spreads its u/c shock struts when pulled backwards into the hangar. Quite normal and I know this happens on at least 3 other Vags here at my airfield. For "normal" u/c maintenance (bolt replacement etc.) I use a purpose made wooden box and car jack to jack the fuselage at the centre shock struts attachment point (with rubber/wood block between jack and fitting). I have a concrete filled 25 Gal drum which I use to "tie" down the opposite end wing. Keeps everything stable for "simple" maintenance.
TonyN