First, you've already awakened the shimmy devil by posting this email.  I "improved" the balance of mine merely by cutting off the aft 4 inches - the aft end is stuffed with fiberglas when built and is heavier than necessary.  But actually, as someone said, you could balance it at the center of rotation, but I seriously doubt that it will do much good.  The wheel and tire are both well aft of the center of rotation (the axis of the strut) and they are much heavier than the pant.  If you have no trace of shimmy, I would recommend leaving things alone.  Maybe the shimmy devil will go back to sleep.

Gary Casey

Hey ES folks,

Do you have any thoughts on the need to balance the nose gear fairing?  I am=
in the middle of repacking the wheel bearings and thought I'd check the nos=
e fairing balance.  It is significantly out of balance to the rear, meaning i=
t drops a full 90 degrees when a rod is placed through the side screws holes=
/phenolic blocks and then lifted.  Make sense?

I've been flying the ES for 6 years with no shimmy, so should I leave it alo=
ne?

Thanks,

Buz McAbery
N82BM
Tulsa, OK