I wouldn't have an issue with using the Grumman gear legs, but I would certainly give serious consideration to cutting them down to add some flex to them. As Pete points out, they are quite stiff as they are designed for a much heavier aircraft than even the fattest KR.
When Dan Diehl first saw my KR with the 30" Diehl gear legs, he told me he was concerned about having the 30" length of gear leg vs the standard 24" leg. When I asked why, Dan told me he had never done any drop testing with anything other than the 24" gear legs, so was concerned about the leverage of the 30" legs on the upper gear mount castings. This was back in 1997. It wasn't too many years prior to that time when Dan had recalled all of the aluminum lower gear leg castings and replaced them with welded steel mounts, so his concern was justified. In the years since, a number of KRs have broken their gear legs in crashes, but I haven't heard of any failed gear mount castings. However, I would be very cautious about using a super stiff leg mounted to the same aluminum casting. I'll try to remember to take a measurement on my 30" legs tomorrow. The Diehl legs are cut to a taper, which makes them more flexible towards the wheel end of the gear leg. My 30" legs are quite soft. -Jeff Scott Los Alamos, NM > Sent: Friday, December 12, 2014 at 9:56 PM > From: "Pete and Karen Gauthier via KRnet" <krnet at list.krnet.org> > To: krnet at list.krnet.org > Subject: Re: KR> LANDING GEAR LEGS > > > I had a mishap involving a broken rudder peddle assembly and partialy > developed ground loop (partially developed because at 90 deg. the gear legs > parted the aircraft and terminated the loop). I have the Yankee legs and I > am trying to determine a spring constant to design my replacement legs. Dan > Prichrd gave me a scrap from his Yankee leg and I have been doing some > load/deflection testing. I don't have a clue what the stack is but I'm > reasonably sure it's symetrical based on the striations in the profile cut. > It's looking to me like the 1" yankee leg is going to be real stiff for my > 600# KR2. I'm beginning to think the Diehl leg might be a better choice in > my case and would like to know a bit more about them. I have asked Steve > GLover for dimensions but haven't heard from him. Can anybody give me > measured dimensions of a diehl leg? The Yankee leg is 1" thick and I've > heard estimates of 3/4" to 1" and about 3" wide for the Diehl. A little > change in the thickness and stack can make a big difference in the stiffness. > Does anyone have, or know a source for, a set of the 30" legs they care to > part with? I may be interested! > > > > Thanks, > > Pete Gauthier, > > Woodburn, OR (real close to McMinnville) > > > ----- Original Message -----
