Hello All,

I have been searching for an HD nose fork from a 310 or 206 for a C182p and have found a few here and there but none are in good shape. I fond this fork which is on a parts donor C175 and the guy is willing to sell it. He does not think its a Landis/Airglas fork, but when I look at the pics it seems it could be. The current tire on the fork is an 850 and I don't know of many that can accommodate that size.. The logs on the donor C175 do not mention the fork being installed.

If ti ends up being an Airglas fork, is it possible to buy just the STC from them when 2nd hand forks switch airframes?

Curious what you all think?

Marc

Marc,

There will be a p/n and s/n stamped on the leading edge of the fork center it it is a true Landas fork.

That installation is extra special though but not the first one I've seen that way.

If it's an old fork, most likly it is based on what I can see in the photo it might not have a S/N and that will be an issue cause it is a thinner and don't think it's supported.

Funny thing, couple guys in Naknek came up with the idea, even made up drawings to get field approvals etc for the Cherokees and Tripacers they were working off the beaches etc. They knew Wess and he made them up for him and then he just started selling them. Turned out some Feds started asking questions, ya you can guess how that went, and they had to buy the rights for the fork from one of the Tibbits out west and get a real STC. Something like that anyway. I had one of the old forks on my Tripacer via field approval with an 8.00 tire and one of the new ones on my 182 with an 8.50 via STC. The new style fork was most likely .060 thicker and took larger diameter through bolts.

There was also an AD for a batch that were not heat treated or heat treated properly but that was done and recended or somthing like that before I arrived in AK. Someone grayer then me might know more.

Looking at the photo the mounting block looks like an Airglass product but the radius of the fork bend looks too large. Might just be the angle of the photo.

Installation instructions require that the Cessna strut is to be cut/shortened and the one in the photo is not. I've seen a few that way and think it's a bad idea to leave it long, to much mechanical advantage, ha disadvantage, and puts too much stress on the tube, mounting fittings and firewall.

Your best bet is to find a vary handy A&P that has done a couple as its a learning curve the first time and takes a touch more common sense then normal to pull it off without it becoming a goat rope. I've used ice, a propane torch, a long smooth bullet, mallet and a hefty arbor press to good effect.

It's not cheap but if you need it best to pony up the dough for a new one with all the proper hardwear etc.

One thing, note the through bolt holding the block to the tube, make sure you get an extra long one so you can use your toe bar bushings. The darn kit doesn't come with one long enough. Other option is to get the strap with the two holes like a Cherokee and go that route, look around the ramp if you don't understand.

Rocket

I too went through this exercise years ago. A friend had a free used one. If I recall correctly those early ones (it was) could only go on the airframe it was field approved for. The new ones are thicker and have STC. I ended up buying a new one. I called and got this info from the manufacturer. I’d suggest you do the same if the one you’re looking at is in question.

My 56' 182 has an identical set up on a 337. If I had to do it again, I'd buy the Airglas one with STC. Our set up works great, but paperwork is really what makes airplanes fly (and sell) these days, so keep it in order. There is a copy of Phil's 337 in the Knowledge Base section.

That fork looks nearly identical to an Airglas/Landis. As others have said there is generally a serial number on the back side of the gold plate (don't know the formal name). When I bought my Landis fork used, I simply called Hitchcock Aviation and they handled the STC transfer for me once I gave them a serial number.