Larry, We agree that trigear is not preferred by most pilots for landing on grass/soft fields. But a lot of us have/do land on soft strips, in a large part because my 172A had this huge shock absorber built into the nose gear strut, filled with nitrogen to dampen the bounce; + over ruts and potholes. I thought that the idea of dampening the nose wheel bounce on a KR might also be beneficial. That’s what the Greasedlanding gear does with the springs on the front fork. In the unlikely event that the pilot lets the nose down too hard, the springs will absorb the bounce. Thus keeping the dreaded prop strike from possibly occurring on a KR. What I was trying to say, is that I’m already heavy on my nose gear, more so than the original design due to the O-200. Adding another pound really has to be justified, especially on the moment arm that’s just right behind the prop. Additionally, the photo on the website shows some kind of mounting plate that might add to that weight. (maybe?) Then there’s the issue of drag, but I didn’t want to bring that up. Mostly because it’s easily minimized with a nose gear fairing (more weight and construction time, and I don’t want to go there now. I want to get my airframe ready for a DAR,ASAP) Griff
From: KRnet <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Larry Flesner via KRnet Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2026 11:52 AM To: [email protected] Cc: Larry Flesner <[email protected]> Subject: Re: KRnet> Nosewheel On 1/18/2026 11:35 AM, G R Pickett via KRnet wrote: As for my project, I have a ~200# engine on a short fuselage. A pound over stock doesn’t sound like much additional weight, but it is at the far forward station of the W&B. That would require a lot of thought, and a significant advantage for me to adopt it’s use. One significant advantage might well be that it would appparently increase safety when landing on grass strips. I’ll have to cogitate a little more to decide. Griff Pickett +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Griff, Not sure I follow your logic on this one. What advantage would a heavy engine / more forward C.G. on tricyle gear have when landing on grass. Generally, conventional gear is considered more advantageous on unimproved (grass, dirt, etc) . Larry Flesner
-- KRnet mailing list [email protected] https://list.krnet.org/mailman/listinfo/krnet
