If in fact your fixed landing gear is stout. I would much rather be in
my Bo than in say a Cessna 120, 140, 170, 180, 185, Luscombe, etc.
There's a good reason the Pponk people came out with a gear mod for some
of those those planes.
Well, generally speaking, a structure that is designed to fold is going
to be inherently weaker than one that is not. There are certainly ways
to minimize this problem, but a solid piece of steel is going to be
stronger than a similar-sized one that has a hinge (or three) built
into it.
I know I've seen Cherokees and Cessnas survive some hellacious
landings, completely unscathed. One in particular scared the crap out
of me (I was a passenger in the back seat) when we stalled and dropped
it in from ten feet above the runway in a Cherokee 180.
I was astounded to note that the landing gear was not poking up through
the wings, as we rolled to a VERY short stop...
;-)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"