Wingtip Wheels from Libelle 201?

On Fri, 12 Jan 2018 15:52:45 +0000, Colin Roney wrote:

At 23:40 11 January 2018, wrote:
On Monday, January 8, 2018 at 5:49:16 PM UTC-5,
wrote:
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
th=
em later. For those with long memories, W1 (Woody
Woodward) installed one
j=
ust to see if it added any detectable drag (apparently
not) before
installi=
ng the second one. Hahaha.=20
=20
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
t=
ype 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
tip=
s 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
so=
lo.
=20
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.=20
=20
Chip Bearden

Chip,

I have some wheels I got from my HPH 304CZ. Do you
know the size you
need?=
I had to special order them and have since sold the
glider.

Dan Reagan


A point that doesn`t seemed to have been raised concerns the protection
of the underside t/e of the aileron when landing on a hard runway and
unable to keep the wings level until the glider stops.If a bit of
inadvertent stick against the wing going down occurs at the last moment
before stopping damage will occur.In this case a skid of up to 40mm deep
may be required.

..... that was at the back of my mind when I was asking about fitting a
wheel in one of the wingtip skids sold by Glasfaser. They make two types:
35mm and 50mm deep.

I've just ordered 35mm skids. This is on the grounds that I fly off grass
both at home and anywhere else that I'm likely to visit lands on grass
even if it has a hard runway. Consequently I don't want to fit a skid
containing a wheel because doing this is likely to fill the skid with mud
in damp conditions. Of course,

35mm may just be enough to keep the ailerons off the rocks but I'll check
whether the ailerons are clear of a hard surface. However, if it isn't
and I find myself going some place with hard runways I can always glue a
rubber doorstop with a reshaped mounting face onto each skid as a
temporary measure.


--
Martin | martin at
Gregorie | gregorie dot org

Chip,

I have some wheels I got from my HPH 304CZ. Do you know the size you need? I had to special order them and have since sold the glider.

Dan Reagan

Dan, I PM'd you.

JJ, Good thought. I'd already inquired of Streifeneder and they responded that they still have the 201-type wheels in stock. I don't have the dimensions.

Dimensions are important because the size of wheel is limited by the depth of the wingtip. I have some great plastic wheels in my parts box but they're nearly 3" in diameter. UH is looking at some other possibilities about an inch smaller.

My rubber tip skids have 26 years' worth of wear but I've still never touched an aileron. Obviously a wheel would have to provide adequate clearance, with no worse drag.

Chip Bearden

If anyone can provide accurate dimensions (diameter, width, axle size), I would be able to provide wheel sets made out of UHMW plastic. Highly abrasion resistant, easy to machine and not brittle like most plastics.

Contact me. info at mmfabrication dot com