So how can you keep this
from happening to your beautiful Rotorway helicopter? One way
is to never fly it. A more practical solution is to implement
a very effective modifiaction that Orv came up with some eight
years ago.
It is not rocket science,
it is common sense. If you extend the landing system support forward
you will have more support when you need it. The further forward
that support is extended, the less likely the helicopter will
be able to rotate up and over that new extended pivot point.
This is accomplished
by:
1. Flipping
the front landing gear leg around 180 degrees so that the gear
runs forward from the frame attach point. There are no modifications
needed, just unbolt the landing gear, remove it, switch the right
gear for the left and left for the right, and bolt it back onto
the frame. This alone brings the landing gear support forward
by close to 20 inches.
2. Installing
a set of extended reinforced aluminum skids to the landing gear
in it's new forward position. The longer skids are reinforced
by inserting a piece of 4130 chromoly steel tube into each skid
before the front of the skid is bent. This steel reinforcement
carries the weight of the helicopter forward from the new landing
gear shoe position (already 20" forward from the stock configuration)
all the way up through the bend at the front of the landing skids.
The steel
insert tube runs back completely through the landing gear shoe
so that both bolts that attach the skid pass through both the
longer skid and the steel reinforcing tube. This effectively gives
over 3' of additional forward support to the helicopter landing
gear system so that it is there when you need it.
3. The final
part of the new landing system is to install low frictin stainless
steel skid shoes to the underside of the skids with the front
shoe following up around the front bent of the skids.
With the
new system, both skids now offer over 3' of additional forward
support for the helicopter and a low friction sliding surface
where the skids make surface contact with the ground.