BC0979

I agree on the excessive slot width for the bolt size. 

Truly appreciate the heads up on this potential issue

I really wanted to use the Zenith pucks or the Viking springs but that would have required me to change ALL support brackets for the nose gear. So I'm stuck with the Bungee 

38 minutes ago, Marty_d said:

Interesting,  same basic setup as the Zenith CH701, but there's no bearing in the Zenith. 

I reviewed the parts list for the 701 and it showed just one circular plate at the top to be bolted on. I believe the difference in the two designs is at the lower support. The 701 nose gear rides on the elastomeric centering block whereas the S rides on the upper axial bearing.  Correct me if I am wrong. 

SM025 installed as per the manual so i thought. In hind sight, the SM025 should be as flat as possible so the two A5 rivets nned to be removed. the foward edge of shelf needs is also contributing to the tilt of the SM025

not good.

The top of the nose gear tube is not square to the shelf. The forward is lower than the aft by about 1/8 inch. The other builder hear stated that his nose gear was similar, not square to the shelf. 

The top of the nose gear is not flush with the shelf either. It currently sticks up about 1/16 in the front above the shelf which is SM025.

When all other parts are in place and tightened down, this will preload the nose gear tube.

I have a thought that the powder coating may have caused this issue. I had to grind the upper and lower metal supports to get the nose gear to slide up and down. The bearing could have been binding on the nose gear tube as it moved up and down.

Here's what the original install looked like as proof that I installed it correctly. LOL

What if SF327-4 were thicker/stronger, would this prevent this from reoccurring?

Why do we use this roller bearing in the first place? It does not seem to be designed for IMPACT loading.

This is a pic of the top of the nose gear tube (lots of grease)where SF327-4 is bolted

So the impact of the nose gear tube retracting from the bungee tension deformed SF327-4 enough to allow the top bearing plate/ring SM003 to slide aft exposing the bearing.

An both the SF327-4 and the upper bearing ring SM003 are bent

As you can see, the bearing is toast

Here's my damage assessment. Somehow the SF327-4 top plate(bolted on) allowed the top bearing plate/ring SM003 to move aft which then impacted

the SM002 keeper bracket.

There isn't much of a cage for the tiny rollers.

The nose gear tube pushes up and down through the center of this roller cage.

I am flying off a grass field so the nose gear is working hard( lots of up and down). I can hear the nose gear bottoming out as it slams into the top metal plate stop where the two top retention bolts are located. I cannot avoid this hammering,  the field is not perfectly flat.

Hello guys. I am doing my initial flight testing and discovered  a few roller bearing pieces on the shelf of my firewall. I believe they are from the flat roller bearing of the nose gear. Anyone else have this issue? The nose gear still Rotates without binding.

One more addition.

Be careful with the ARM values, the location of the wheels to the leading edge of the wing. My W&B guy used a plumb Bob and our ARM values were not the same as published in the ICP manual.

FYI if you have not witnessed this method.

The certified professional weight and balance guy I hired had ramps for each of the three electronic scales.  The ramps and scales of each wheel were at the correct height for level flight, the top of the rear fuse. We rolled the S onto the scales. Then there was a Temperature compensation step before the final numbers. 

Final assembly before the airworthiness inspection. Single set of wing tanks. Viking 130. 808 lbs empty 366kg

Paid $250 for a guy with certified scales. Tried the digital bathroom scales without success,  my readings were much lower and inconsistent, tried 4x.

Great suggestion,  I am checking with my dealer for the price.

Thank you 

1 hour ago, Area-51 said:

Buy new doors, cut off upper windows; 1/2 doors done 🤷🏼‍♂️

Understood, but what about the hinge/mounting points? And air flow on the upper half? Sure some sort of fairing is needed on the upper half which is why I am asking this forum

Has anyone successfully fabricated half doors for their Savannah S?

Would you please share your design 

Thank you 

Savannah S vg's have alignment nubs that fit into the pre drilled holes at the leading edge so holding them in place for 10 seconds isn't very difficult 

Great input Guys!

I have bare aluminum (no paint) under the VGs.

I did see that the StolSpeed website offers double sided tape but as stated earlier, not the right size for ICP VGs.

I did not see that the "manual" recommended super glue. 

If  I use super glue, I could remove the VG with a heat gun if and when a replacement is required.

Thanks to all of you I am almost there....😁

After I get my Savannah S assembled at the field, I will install the little plastic VG pieces. I didn't want to transport the wing with them installed to prevent possible damage.

So the question is, what do I use to install these little plastic VG pieces? Is there a clear glue the you recommend?

These jury struts are a pain in the you know what, LOL

Right side took over 5 hrs but the left side was done in 1.5 hrs.

Not my best work but they are installed

Yes, I am in Florida, USA so FlyBoy is correct. I am required to have 7" minimum ground clearance.

15X6-6 tire deflated plus the bottoming out of the nose gear to the stops. I will need to check this.

I fly off a grass field so nothing will save me if I bury the nose gear in a gopher hole....

Thanks again for all the input.

The Facebook link was just to show a pic of a Savannah with an extremely extended nose gear.

Attached is the pic.