Ventus 2 undercarriage?

It can be tempting for someone hoping to make it easier to get the gear into the “up� position to adjust the linkage using the threaded rod end on the back end of the gear handle.

The threaded rod end should only be used to make sure that the handle allows correct positioning when the gear is in the down and locked position. Specifically that the aft linkages on the gear assembly are fully extended and firmly blocked agaist each other. You must inspect the gear linkages to verify this.

As a result, the “up� position is singularly controlled by the length of the plate that is bolted to the under side of the composite “shelf� that the gear handle rests against. If that plate has worn down then replacing that plate is necessary. As others have mentioned, replacing the plate with an aluminum piece may yield a more robust assembly.

When the gear assembly is down and locked, if the handle is slightly tight against the plate, that will help guard against it jostling loose as will ensuring that the corner of the plate is sharp and the forward edge being very slightly angled against the handle rotating out of detent.

Good luck!

Landing on the moon: no problem whatsoever. Glider landing gear that works: sorry it's just not possible.

Back in the mid-late 60s (1967?), my father had one of the first Diamants in the U.S., a 15 Meter HBV model (with the Libelle 301 wings). The gear collapsed one day when it was about 6 months old for no apparent reason. He and his partners flew it a few times with the gear locked down using a hose clamp secured around one of the actuators (can't recall details). Functional but noisy and not very elegant (not far removed from not flying it at all)..

It wasn't until the factory rep arrived (IIRC, Fred Jiran in what may have been his first visit here) to do some factory mandated mods that he discovered the landing gear frame had gotten bent slightly in a ground loop. The downlock activated by folding the gear retract handle against the wall of the cockpit was no longer engaging. Most times the legs being over center was sufficient to keep the gear down...but not always.

Chip Bearden