In the past few weeks, the focus has not been in the workshop but at the computer screen, working on the re-design of the nose landing gear mechanism. The original design proved to be problematic, requiring a complete redesign.
After designing, drawing, and discarding countless variations, I finally settled on the following: a four-bar linkage mechanism driven by an electric linear actuator. This design, in combination with the landing gear bulkhead, forms a self-contained mechanical unit, and it weighs approximately 200g less than the original design. At the same time, the extension and retraction time has been reduced from 16-22 seconds to just 9 seconds.
The calculation of the expected forces and the strength of all components required a thorough refresh of my trigonometry skills. The technical documentation for the entire design and its calculations spans 42 pages and is currently being reviewed by EAS before production can begin.
Update, 1st November 2021: Green light received, production has started.