EGP Canard Nose Gear Extension/Retraction System

My goal was to create a system that minimized both mechanical modifications to the F-22 and NG-30 structures, allowing for simple retrofit into existing manual or electrical nose gear retract system installations and minimized the changes to the design for new builds. I was able to retrofit my COZY MKIV, which started with a stock manual system and then had an EZNoselift (classic) system for about 20 years, in a few days.

The EGP System uses an OTS (Off The Shelf) electric linear actuator with integral adjustable limit switches, new NG-30 side attachment plates and spacers and a new actuator mounting block. It fits completely forward of the F-22 bulkhead and in between the outer surfaces of the NG-30s, requiring no F-22 mods or hole. It also requires no modification to the two or three side plate mounting holes in the NG-30s. It does require replacement of the existing NG-3/NG-4 brackets, if you're going to re-use your existing nose gear strut rather than fabricate a whole new nose gear strut assembly.

Here’s an exploded 3D CAD view of the new system:

Pros:

• OTS Actuator: No actuator modifications required or performed, therefore no weak points from machining or welding as with existing actuator systems.

• No Spring Cartridge: The origin history of the spring cartridge used with manual and electric actuation systems is unknown to me but in my opinion the spring cartridge causes far more problems than it solves (if it solved any). Removing the spring allows for hard braking on short runways or in emergency situations without the danger of nose gear steering axis angle inversion and extreme shimmy. Removal also eliminates the "porpoising" action of the nose of these aircraft when taxiing over bumps or dips, which can find resonance and lead to tipback or prop strikes, aside from merely being annoying and scary to passengers.
  
  There are numerous examples of aircraft with the original VE manual gear, - the ones that Ryszard Zadow recently mentioned on the COBA list, as well as Mehran Salamati in his Berkut(s), along with others who've operated safely for many years with no spring cartridges.

• Limit switch adjustment: Adjusting the limit switches in the OTS actuator is very simple and the switches are protected with no connectors between them and the actuator itself.

• Weight: Approximately the same weight as existing electric actuation systems.

• Cost: Final cost will be dependent upon quantity of units purchased, but is almost guaranteed to be equal to or lower than existing, available nose gear retraction systems.

• Eliminated Issues :

  • Loose/bent side plate attachment bolts

  • Wobbling extension shaft due to poor welding alignment of ball screw shaft

  • Grinding of bottom of actuator to clear NG-4 interior surface

  • Wallowing of NG-3/4 mounting holes due to using bolt as the bearing member

  • Plastic drive gear breakage

  • Poor / non-existent technical support

Cons:

• No Spring Cartridge: If you believe that the spring cartridge allows for taxiing on rougher ground without breakage, then this would be a "con", but that's not a belief to which I subscribe, so for me, this is not a "con".

• No Mechanical Extension: As with most (if not all) of the currently available nose gear systems, no manual extension crank is possible - only an electric backup in the case of aircraft electrical system failure is possible.

• 1,500 lb. Load Limit: Currently available (and previous) systems which used the Thomson Saginaw Ball Screw mechanism had a maximum load capability of approximately 3,000 lb. This was required to lift a MGW, forward CG COZY MKIV from a grazing position to a fully extended position (bumper on the ground is the worst case load). Without major modifications to F-22 I was not able to fit an electric actuator that had a 3,000 lb. load capability and I was not willing to force holes or modifications to F-22.
  
  With the new system's 1,500 load capacity, you will be required to lift the nose to 18" - 24" off the ground before loading the front seat (the amount of load will determine required height - these #'s are approximate).
  
  Since raising a fully loaded aircraft from the ground is contraindicated due to the fact that the NG-1 strut was not designed for such loading, I believe that the advantage of not having to modify the aircraft structure outweighs the disadvantage of having to raise the nose prior to front seat loading.

Price $2,700 (TBD) Weight: 12 lb.
EGP Installation Instructions - Rev. 1 (TBD)

Installed Actuator:

EGP System Electrical Circuitry File Availability:

• Electrical Drive Schematic for EGP Nose Gear System here.

• Thomson K2 Wiring Instructions here.

EZNoselift System Components:

Price: ~$175 Clamp System Installation Instructions - Rev. 5

EZNoseLift AutoExtend Circuit Information

The AEX (AutoExtend) system provided by EZNoselift is driven only by IAS, so will extend the nose gear in multiple situations in which extension is not warranted or desired. In addition, the wiring harness provided by EZNoselift is inadequate with respect to reliability, robustness, and voltage drop (due to wire gauge and length issues). To correct these deficiencies, I’ve created a wiring schematic for an electrical drive system that provides for proper current carrying capacity, backup battery driven extension in the case of full electrical system failure, as well as a robust AEX system using throttle setting, low and high IAS limits, and if desired, a laser altimeter to ensure that the nose gear will only extend automatically when actually attempting to land and the pilot forgets to extend the nose gear.

Along with this information, Trevor Howard has implemented this system (with more capability) on a PC board, with Arduino inteface functions.

File availability is as follows:

• Trevor Howard Package ZIP file

• Discrete Circuit Schematic - Rev. 2

• Discrete Circuit Schematic - Rev. 2a

• Discrete Circuit Bill Of Materials - Rev. 5

Other Nose Gear System Components:

Price: ~$125 (TBD) Installation Instructions - Rev. 2

Price: ~$150 (TBD) Installation Instructions - Rev. 2

Price: ~$95 (TBD) (Use Plans or existing nose lift instructions for installation)

Price: ~$75 (TBD) (Use Plans or existing nose lift instructions for installation)

Price: ~$65 (TBD) - Also Included with EGP System Order
Installation Instructions - Rev. 1

Price: ~$55 (TBD) - Also Included with EGP System Order
Installation Instructions - Rev. 1

Price: ~$50 (TBD) - Also Included with NG-6B / 7B and MKNG-6B / 7B order
Installation Instructions Combined with appropriate NG-6B / MKNG-6B Instructions

Price ~$400 (TBD) - NG-5B and NG-7B Included with order
NG-6B / NG-7B / NG-5B Installation Instructions Rev. 5

Price ~$425 (TBD) - NG-5B and MKNG-7B Included with order
MKNG-6B / MKNG-7B / NG-5B Installation Instructions Rev. 4

Last Modified: 3/19/2024 - Updated MKNG-6B / NG-6B Instructions