interesting, I like the installation idea, but that wouldn't help keeping wingtip off ground with a cabane ear pull failure... I don't think....(when the cabane breaks, even with the upper relatively close fitting safety cable the wing tip is almost on the ground by the time the thimbles elongate... its weird geometry when the cabane goes sideways with one side still attached to fuselage & with the shocks still attached...)..... hmmmm... someone will have to mock that up and measure.....
I should probably clarify the incident I'm thinking of he was on strait landes skis.... regular length cub gear...
Ya I think the only way to be sure would be to mock-up and measure.
I would never put it on my own airplane (at least if I were the first one to try it) without hoisting it, pulling the cabane bolt at the top, and letting it down (slowly)
to find out.. same for removing a shock strut to see what I had for margin.
By your statement it did make me realize that to follow the tubes (for streamline and not catch brush) with the ropes then there would have to be extra length plus the shock travel extra, to make it work... Thought about bungee cord wrap to hold it to the tube for stretch when you get close to the gear travel and have used up the "slack loop" around the shock strut.
Then I measured the difference in length from the top front gear leg to the bolt hole on the inner axle extention, both straight line and following the cabane, shock strut, etc..
It looks like the difference is only about 1/4". I imagine anyone who remembers their basic high school geometry could have figured it out, but I just used a steel tape..
That would seem to come under the tolerance left by that extra elongating thimble eye..
I don't know how close the wing tip is to the ground at full travel on one side but I'd bet 1/4" of distance between upper front gear leg and opposing axle would not be the deciding factor.
My friend has already substituted synthetic rope for his cable.. it's just that he kept the other hardware, which minimized his gain. It seems one could gain even more by re-thinking it a bit.
I really like seeing the results of Oliver's tests, and really appreciate his trying it out. It gives me a bit more faith in the new material. Now I wonder if plastic thimbles would really compromise it that much over a sharp surface like that tab? Oliver?