Wingtip Wheels from Libelle 201?

Anyone have a source for the little hard plastic wingtip wheels that were recessed into the Libelle 201 wingtips? The early gliders didn't have them but I know of at least one owner who got them from Glasflugel and added them later. For those with long memories, W1 (Woody Woodward) installed one just to see if it added any detectable drag (apparently not) before installing the second one. Hahaha.

I've seen several variations of the small tip wheels that are built into a fairing or tip skid that's glued onto the bottom of the tip but not the type that are recessed into the wing as on the 201. Only the bottom half of the small hard plastic wheel protruded from the wingtip but it kept the tips off the ground if a wing dropped while flying and made ground handling a little easier, especially when landing out and having to move the glider solo..

It wouldn't be easy to replace one without opening up the wing (IIRC, the axle was inside of the skin) but I've never heard of anyone having to.

Chip Bearden

While not the exact same, I would imagine RollerBlade wheels can be had of about the same size.
Usually it's a polyurethane wheel with 2 semi sealed ball bearings, they come in a number of sizes, from kids blades up to high speed adult blades.

Just sorta thinking out loud.....

Ask that question at . And you will probably get lots of help.
Dale Bush

Chip, the utility is a bigger factor than the imagined drag penalty of tip wheels.
I had Rex Mayes put a pair of Walter Quitt's wing tip wheels on the 29 last year. If they are draggy, doubt anybody at Uvalde would have thought so.
Williams Soaring has them.
Jim

Thx. I've seen pics of the available tip wheels. And off-the-shelf wheels would work. But the Glasflugel device was so elegant: the wheel was small but robust, and half buried in the tip instead of the entire wheel being encased in a fairing, as I've found commercially available. And already mounted in a fiberglass assembly. I checked Streifeder's site without success but I'll post something on the Libelle owner's forum.

Chip Bearden

On Tuesday, January 9, 2018 at 3:21:18 PM UTC-8, wrote:
Thx. I've seen pics of the available tip wheels. And off-the-shelf wheels would work. But the Glasflugel device was so elegant: the wheel was small but robust, and half buried in the tip instead of the entire wheel being encased in a fairing, as I've found commercially available. And already mounted in a fiberglass assembly. I checked Streifeder's site without success but I'll post something on the Libelle owner's forum.

Chip Bearden

Chip, I retrofitted a set of factory wheels to a Libelle in the '70s (SN 71). They were available from the factory and consisted of the glass wheel pocket with an embedded steel U-strap and a surrounding glass flange. Installation consisted of making a hole and scarfing the outer skin around the flange then glassing it all together. It wouldn't be too hard to reproduce.

Craig

On Tue, 09 Jan 2018 15:21:15 -0800, chip.bearden wrote:

Thx. I've seen pics of the available tip wheels. And off-the-shelf
wheels would work. But the Glasflugel device was so elegant: the wheel
was small but robust, and half buried in the tip instead of the entire
wheel being encased in a fairing, as I've found commercially available.
And already mounted in a fiberglass assembly. I checked Streifeder's
site without success but I'll post something on the Libelle owner's
forum.

I was looking at the Glasfaser (Streifneder) website today and wondered
how easy it would be to fit wheels, possibly those made for skateboards,
inside the tall (50mm) tip skids that they sell.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

...possibly those made for skateboards...

My experience is that skateboard wheels don't do very well as either tailwheels or wingtip wheels. The bearings seem to wear out quickly and spit out their balls, then the wheel starts wobbling and tearing up the surrounding structure.

The issue appears to be that the bearings don't handle the shock loads that they regularly see in glider service. You'd think that they'd be better, since skateboards and inline skates appear to be often subjected to such loads. However, it bears remembering that the human leg is a quite effective shock absorption system, one absent from glider wingtips and tails.

I use 200x50 pneumatic wheels for tailwheels, and when I need a wingtip wheel, I usually make it out of 2" Delrin rod stock with a plain steel or Oilite bushing.

--Bob K.

On Monday, January 8, 2018 at 2:49:16 PM UTC-8, wrote:
Anyone have a source for the little hard plastic wingtip wheels that were recessed into the Libelle 201 wingtips?

https://www.mscdirect.com/product/details/77879526

I used a roller blade wheel as a tail wheel on my LS-6a for several
years.Â* Never needed to replace it.Â* Your results may vary.

On 1/10/2018 12:47 PM, Bob Kuykendall wrote:
...possibly those made for skateboards...
My experience is that skateboard wheels don't do very well as either tailwheels or wingtip wheels. The bearings seem to wear out quickly and spit out their balls, then the wheel starts wobbling and tearing up the surrounding structure.

The issue appears to be that the bearings don't handle the shock loads that they regularly see in glider service. You'd think that they'd be better, since skateboards and inline skates appear to be often subjected to such loads. However, it bears remembering that the human leg is a quite effective shock absorption system, one absent from glider wingtips and tails.

I use 200x50 pneumatic wheels for tailwheels, and when I need a wingtip wheel, I usually make it out of 2" Delrin rod stock with a plain steel or Oilite bushing.

--Bob K.

--
Dan, 5J