Beringer 6.00×6″ Wheels
The Beringer 6″ wheel axles are attached to the aeroplane with studs rather than bolts, and these have to be screwed into the axles, and secured with Loctite 638.
The axles are handed to allow for the brake calipers to be in the correct orientation on both sides, so care is needed during assembly!
Because we are fitting the Sky Design wheel spats, the two rear studs have to be long enough to incorporate the standoffs for the inner bracket.
And the two front studs have to be short enough to fit in the restricted recesses in the front holes of the U-01421-L & -R Gear Axle Fittings.
The brake calipers are secured to the axles with four large bolts. They are torqued to 221 in/lbs (25 Nm), and are challenging to nip up due to the caliper geometry & also them being so close to the axle … ie crowsfoot needed.
In the picture you may notice the calipers have been torqued up onto the axles without the brake discs in place between the pads … mistake! It is not possible to fit the brake discs once assembled which I discovered too late! I guess you could disassemble the brake caliper pad attachments, but …
Before bolting on the calipers to the axles, fit the Brake Discs!
The Beringer axles fitted onto the Vans Gear Axle Fittings nicely.
You have to wind on the MS21042-4 nuts as you offer up the studs due to the restricted access.
MS21042-4’s are needed by the way, not equivalent larger nylocs … they are too large to fit.
The Beringer axle nut is big! It needs a 1.75″ socket, and the outside diameter of the socket should be less than 62mm to fit in the wheel hub recess.
That’s the biggest spanner used on the build … thank goodness! : )
So there we have it … a RV14 perched on 6″ wheels.
They look a better size to our eyes, and will certainly be more suitable for our grass strips here in the UK.
It’s hard to compare, but here is an equivalent picture when the 5″ wheels were fitted … tiny!
Another view of the 6″.
Now I can complete the fitting of the Sky Design wheel spats.
3 comments on Beringer 6.00×6″ Wheels
Steve, wondering how much it cost you to switch from 5 to 6 inches tires? We have already received our Beringer wheels (through TS Flightlines) with 5 inch tires but hope to hanger the airplane on a grass strip close to home. We just started the fuselage build this week so have time to switch but . . . Also wondering if the standard Van’s spats/pants will accommodate 6 inch tires or switch also requires the upgrade to SkyDesign?
Thanks from Southern Illinois
I had purchased my 5” Beringer kit from Beringer France … they were very kind and allowed me to return them and I paid the difference for the 6” kit. They cost Euros 525 extra, which is about $595 I guess.
But they are significantly larger, so the Vans pants will definitely not fit … actually part of my reason for upgrading was to improve the ground clearance on the pants. The Sky Design pants fit well and produce must more appropriate ground clearance for grass operations.
The Vans pants are nice, but in my view do not offer enough ground clearance for continuous grass strip flying. Also the 5” wheels look very small on the 14 … they are the same ones fitted to much smaller RV6/7/8’s, but the 14 is a bigger plane!
I’m sure the 6”/Sky Design setup is the way to go for grass strips in the RV14. Obviously I haven’t flight tested yet, but we’re not anticipating any problems.
Definitely looks the part on 6” wheels !