Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: "Noel & Yoshie Simmons"
I'm in the process of making my landing gear struts (Wire Wheels, woodenstruts, etc). I am laminating the struts out of 1/4" thick spruce and amconsidering making a channel down the middle of the rear struts to enclosethe brake lines. By putting this channel in the middle of the strut Ishould lose almost no strength (the channel will be on the neutral axis ofthe beam, for you engineers out there). This should make a really neatlooking installation with no unsightly hydraulic lines hanging out spoilingthe looks of the undercarriage.My concern is that if I use a standard aluminum tube for the hydraulic line,eventually it will fatigue and crack and have to be replaced, which might bea real pain once the airplane is assembled. (I know this is a realconcern - I have had to replace both the aluminum brake lines on my Cessna140. Of course, it is 54 years old and if the Pietenpol brake lines lastthat long, they will be someone else's problem.) In his book "SportplaneConstruction Techniques", Tony Bingelis mentions the use of Nylaflow nylontubing for brake lines. I have never used them. Has anybody else usedthese lines on a plane? How well did they work? How flexible are they?Can they be snaked through a narrow channel fairly easily? I intend to coatthe inside of the channel liberally with epoxy to protect the wood in caseof a hydraulic fluid leak.Jack Phillips________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Jack Phillips"
Jack,I have used the Nylaflow brake line quite a bit. However I have nowswitched so a better brake line, it is a SS braded that is thermally bondedto a Teflon core. These also have AN-3 fittings at both ends. I have neverhad one of these break or leak. The Nylaflow also has a tremendous amountof line swell witch reduces your braking efficiency so you want to make surethat the line to each side is exactly the same length or your brake peddletravel will be substantially different, the line I use is very minimal tonil and peddle travel is very close to equal no mater the difference in linelength.You may want to look at my web site www.blskyav.com if you are interested.Noel SimmonsBlue Sky AviationRR1 1616Lewistown, MT 59457406-538-6574----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: "Noel & Yoshie Simmons"
Many of the canard plane that originally had the Nylaflow are now using 1/8"stainless steel tubing. There are some really neat fittings that are set upfor 37 degrees for this tubing. Talk to Dave Rondenberg of the Bercuteplanes. He can fill you in.Cy Galley, TC - Chair, Emergency Aircraft Repair, Oshkosh----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: Jack Phillips
Jack -I used Nylaflow lines on a couple of race cars - open wheel type. Workedfine, held up well, and I think I used those brakes more than you ever wouldin a Piet. Of course, I've also used aluminum, steel, and Airquip braidover nylon - they all worked well also.Craig----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: jerryb
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Original Posted By: Doc Mosher
09/18/2001 07:48:19 AMJack,For what it's worth, we use teflon tubing in a lot of marine & labapplications because it's tough, flexible but semi-rigid and chemicallyinert. I don't know about the steel-bonded stuff Noel mentioned, but basedon my experience with plain teflon tubing, I'm betting this would be asuperior product for brake lines. Based on my experience, a brake line outofr plain teflon with a wall thickness of 1/16" would probably be strongenough by itself, so the steel-wrapped stuff should be great.Just as an aside, I've been off the list for a while - first because thebrakes on my truck failed about a week ago & I totalled it, then I had togo out of town for a work trip & finally, the events of the past week havejust sickened and saddened me tremendously. My daughter's babysitter losta nephew in the WTC, but thank god all my other NY friends and relativesare OK. I am resigned to the idea that we are going to war over this & thatit is appropriate that we are, but I just don't feel the rage that a lot ofpeople are expressing. Also, I am very upset about the anti-Arab threats and attacks going onaround the country. My Brother-in-Law is a Palestinian Christian & I'mworried about how this might impact his family. He can probably take careof himself, as he's a decorated Viet Nam-era Green Beret & now owns a gunshop in FL, but some of his family is vulnerable.BTW, Thanks Corky for the bit of aviation humor - could have been my ex!(which is why she's my ex).Cheers!Kip Gardner (all set to move to OH on Oct. 25)Laboratory ManagerOld Dominion UniversityDept. of Ocean, Earth & Atmos. Sciences, Rm. 4414600 Elkhorn Ave.Norfolk, VA 23529Ph: 757-683-5654Bumper Sticker of the Week:"Warning - I Brake For Hallucinations"________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 18 Sep 2001 08:09:52 -0500 rv-listAmatronics.com(at)matronics.com, rocket-list@matronics, kolb-list(at)matronics.com, zenith-list(at)matroncis.com, yak-list(at)matronics.com, ez-list(at)matronics.com, lancair-list(at)matronics.com, cessna-list(at)matronics.com, beech-list(at)matronics.com, cadet-list(at)matronics.com, avionics-list(at)matronics.com, aerobatic-list(at)matronics.com, pitts-list(at)matronics.com, homebuilt-list(at)matronics.com