main gear

[kerry]

Every mooney I look at it seems one of the mains is canted inward compared to the opposite main wheel.  On mine its the right wheel.  Another mooney I was looking on the ramp today was the left wheel.  This always bugs me and I was wondering if anyone has an answer.  My gear is torque at tolerance and my tires wear evenly.  Seems like I only notice this on mooneys.

[sleepingsquirrel]

I thought I had noticed this on my Mooney. Then I convinced myself that it is an optical illusion. Seems to shift if standing on one side of the plane or the other. I wear glasses and think that may contribute to this effect. The first time I did a snap roll , I turned to look out the back and was afraid that I had twisted the tail. It sure looked like it. Then I looked by turning my head the other way and the tail appeared to be leaning the other direction. Turns out that angle had me looking through a part of my glasses that enhanced the illusion! I was relieved and calmed down to resume normal flight.

[flyboy0681]

Funny story. A few weeks after I acquired my "J" I was looking at it head-on and noticed both legs were off. I freaked out for a minute, thinking I bent them during some rather hard landings during my transition training. When I got home I looked at pictures of other Mooney's and saw that it's just the way the gear sits.

Interesting to note that the wing gear on 747's are also canted inward a few degrees.

[Barry]

The inward tilt of the gear is a good reason to exchange the right and left main gear on occasion for equal wear. It increases the lifetime of the tire.

[Parker_Woodruff]

Quote: Barry

The inward tilt of the gear is a good reason to exchange the right and left main gear on occasion for equal wear. It increases the lifetime of the tire.

[Shadrach]

Squirrel, don't be doing anymore "snap rolls" in that B model... ;-)

[KSMooniac]

I think it is mostly an optical illusion, created by the angle of the gear relative to the dihedral in the wing as well as the angle of the gear doors.  My gear preloads are in-spec as well, and when we were fitting lower profile gear doors one required different length spacers and washers compared to the other.  After jacking and leveling the plane, I measured the angle of the gear and it turns out one was 0.5 degree different than the other!  My plane has never been on it's belly or had the gear out as far as I can tell, and I expect it has been that way for 34 years.  Our planes were built by hand for the most part, and there are variances from one to another.

[danb35]

Quote: Barry

The inward tilt of the gear is a good reason to exchange the right and left main gear on occasion for equal wear. It increases the lifetime of the tire.