"Richard Lamb" wrote

But I'm really wondering if the rubber donut is
necessary and maybe just make another U'ie that
will bolt to the bottom side of the leg end.

And get's pinned to the airframe same as the
first one, and - yer done?

The leg is supposed to flex...

Any thoughts?

Perhaps the flex of the plate alone, is a bit too stiff?

How far down, from the attach point, is the donut? If it is very far down
from the hinge, it might put a point of stress on it, that would bend the
plate, before it flexes.

Also, you have to consider the stress on the airframe attach point of the
donut. If it were a solid mounting, instead of a donut, a sudden impact of
a rough landing could over stress the frame. The donut spreads the load out
over a period of time, lowering the peak stress, I would think.

All in all, this is mostly conjecture, because the drawings and your
description do not contain enough detail for me to fully and accurately
understand all of the implications of the structures.
--
Jim in NC