The International Cessna^® 170 Association

cessna170bdriver wrote:

gahorn wrote:If you can remember it... .... next time you go to the airport, can you take pics of the Crosswind gear and post them here under a new thread?

I have some old snapshots of the crosswind gear installation on my airplane the day I bought it. If it would be of any help to anyone, I can scan these and post. ...

ronjenx wrote:Please do.

First, here's scans of the gear on the airplane the day I bought it. The "straight" wheel is the right one taken from the front, the "crooked" one is the left gear taken from the rear. I've also included a wider shot to show the "pigeon toed" look that always got line boys' attention!
Here's what the pile-o-parts looks like today. It's about 33 lbs.

Thanks for posting the pictures.

Miles, maybe you could work a deal with Bruce on your old Goodyear parts if any of them would fit his crosswind gear on his new 170 I can't wait to see that X-Wind gear at convention. I have seen 195's with them, but haven't seen (or remembered) them on 170's although I know they are out there. 33 pounds huh? What are you going to convince Karen not to pack so you can bring all of this to St Joseph

170C wrote:Miles, maybe you could work a deal with Bruce on your old Goodyear parts if any of them would fit his crosswind gear on his new 170

Bruce and I are already in communications on this; he has first dibs.

170C wrote:33 pounds huh? What are you going to convince Karen not to pack so you can bring all of this to St Joseph

Actually, Karen and I have both been hitting the gym lately, so the payload increase should cover the weight. The problem would be space; she packs the same for a 2-week trip whether we're travelling by Cessna, Honda, or Boeing.

cessna170bdriver wrote:

170C wrote:Miles, maybe you could work a deal with Bruce on your old Goodyear parts if any of them would fit his crosswind gear on his new 170

Bruce and I are already in communications on this; he has first dibs. ...

It's such fantastic news that Bruce has become so interested and dedicated to maintain ORIGINALITY!

cessna170bdriver wrote:... The problem would be space; she packs the same for a 2-week trip whether we're travelling by Cessna, Honda, or Boeing.

Baggage is a lot like work. It seems to fill the time/space alloted to it. No matter how stringent I threaten Jamie about baggage we always end up at gross weight and filled to the headliner. I"m just glad she's always happy to go along with me!

gahorn wrote:Baggage is a lot like work. It seems to fill the time/space alloted to it. No matter how stringent I threaten Jamie about baggage we always end up at gross weight and filled to the headliner. I"m just glad she's always happy to go along with me!

Amen, brother!

George, I have to agree wholeheartly with you. Becky is the same way. I am just glad she will agree to go along on vrs flying outings. Unfortunately I am not the lightest packer myself. its going to be interesting to see how we get a weeks worth of convention stuff plus another weeks (for me) worth of camping equipment for Oshkosh all in that small baggage area. May have to strap some things to the struts

Guys I promise if we get out with the plane this weekend I'll take some photos and maybe a movie of the cross wind gear. Right now the avionics are out for a new NavCom install.

We really enjoy parking the plane with one of the wheels "broken" out like in Miles picture. Sure draws a crowd at the fly-ins.

And George, it is my partner who won't get rid of the gear and it's not because he's an original nut. He claims the gear has saved the plane more than once which is hard to believe because the gear bulkheads have been torn out of this airplane twice in it's history while in his ownership but neither time by him but other partners.

As promise some crosswind landing gear photos.
This one shows just one wheel broken in as seen from directly in front of the wheel. This is the way we like to park for maximum gawking and wonder from passers by. Always draws a crowd.
The same but from directly in front of the plane.
Here on wheel is broken out and the other in as seen from directly in front of the plane.
And finally one wheel broken out the other in as seen from the direction of trail.

And here is a little video which captures what often happens when one hits just a bit to much brake to make a turn. In this case Leroy hit a bit to much right brake and the wheels broke out. Leroy just goes with the flow and takes of sideways whether he needs to or not. Taking sideways takes some getting use to. You also can't have the mains over the center stripe on narrow runways. Of course you would land in the same crab angle with the mains to one side or the other from the center line and the wheels will kick out and in as needed. Landing in a crab takes nerve.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuAa5EV2F3o

Bruce, thanks for the photo's & video. That take-off looked stange to a non-crosswind gear guy, but I can see where it could really help in some situations.
Also, glad to see you finally got the right color combination on a plane

Thanks for the pics! Looks like you have the cross-wind tailwheel, too!

In another thread

Bruce Fenstermacher wrote:...BTW I just inspected the crosswind landing gear loot you brought me with my partner Leroy and he was very happy to see the brake disks and at least one of the wheel cylinders with no wear in the cylinder wall the piston rides in. The entire box of parts has already been assimilated into the parts cash.

Glad to hear the trade was worthwile for you guys. That's 30+ lb of stuff I won't have to move if I ever get to transfer back east . I'll get to try out my F&M square socket as soon as I find time to do my slightly overdue oil change...

Interesting thread. My 55 170-B came wit them. My dad bought the plane in 1956 with less than 100 hours on it. As I recall, it took a fair amount of side load to make them caster.

He switched them out in about 1965 as he couldn't find an A&P that was willing to touch them even for the simplest maintenance. Doing your own maintenance?

I think I still have them in a box out in the hangar. I'll have to take a look and see what kind of shape they are in.

Yes we do our own maintenance. It takes some understanding of them, how they work and what you need to keep on top of. Mostly the problems center around the Goodyear brakes and their poor design and now lack of good parts rather than the crosswind gear.

Bruce Fenstermacher wrote:Yes we do our own maintenance. It takes some understanding of them, how they work and what you need to keep on top of. Mostly the problems center around the Goodyear brakes and their poor design and now lack of good parts rather than the crosswind gear.

Hello Bruce,
I just inherited a set of Goodyear X-wind gear. They are in...ok shape. Do you happen to have any maintenance manuals, or know of any? Or do you rely solely on your experience and knowledge of them?
I don't plan on installing them any time soon. I look at them as a separate renovation project. They are interesting witnesses to aviation history and just peeked my curiosity. Once I know my 170A well enough I will install them and try them out.
Thanks, in advance, for anything you can come up with.