Cozy IV Nose Pivot and Fork on a Cozy III?

[TrevorH]

For you Cozy III fliers,

      I am contemplating installation of the "beefier" MK IV pivot and nose wheel fork assembly in my Cozy III.  Is there any benefit to be had or is the extra weight of the larger nose wheel and tire unnecessary?  I have a brand new NG-1L waiting on me to decide which hardware to order.

Thanks in advance,

Trevor

[Kent Ashton]

I put a Cozy IV strut and wheel on an EZ.  It was available, has a better friction control but probably not necessary on the EZ.  A Cozy III with two people puts somewhat more stress on the nose gear so I think it would be a good mod and make it somewhat easier to taxi on grass surfaces.  I read about fork-breaks once in a while.  BTW, I rounded all the sharp corners of my fork hoping to stop the start of a stress crack.

[TrevorH]

That's what I was thinking, Kent.  Can you tell me what I'd have to change in an already constructed Cozy nose to accommodate the MK IV pivot and fork?  All I can figure would need to change is the size of the nose wheel bowl/cover if I went to the larger front tire.  Still can't figure out the difference between the two NG6 pivots.  Seems like the NG30s are the same distance apart in the III and MK IV.  Thanks for the comment on the fork's corners.  I'll be sure to look at that.

[Kent Ashton]

A page from the Mk IV plans below.   The MKNG-6 is wider on the Mk IV and the mount-place in the nose is wider.  I suppose your NG30s could be mod'ed for the wider MKNG-6 if you have good access but you might just shave off your MKIV strut to fit your existing NG-6 or just use a Long-ez strut with a couple extra wraps.  I cannot recall the upper pivot area or the strut failing in a C-III.  The failures I read of are of the EZ fork cracking, the smaller wheel cracking (some versions, can't say which), an NG-3 that failed (my work  😞   ) because it was made from aluminum vs. 4130, and the NG30s delaminating from the floor and bulkhead when persons taxied into a tie-down hole on the ramp or did not have overlaps that wrapped to the outside of the nose .  The friction control on the first EZ fork needed frequent tweaking so the Mk-IV was an improvement there.

 

Edited October 27, 2022 by Kent Ashton