RC India

Hey guys, I went to my local cycle repair shop today to look for materials to make landing gear for my trainer.. There I saw these bent wire brackets (used to hold the fenders in place) hanging from the ceiling. I was quite surprised as they looked similar to the wire landing gear that HK sells. They are available in various thicknesses. So I bought one (Rs.15) to try on my trainer.

Has anyone tried these? How are the HK ones supposed to be installed?

Here are the pics.. (first pic is of the one that HK sells for 2$ rest are of the one I bought)

How much it's weight?

I also want to make a landing gear for my trainer..Lets see the feedback for this..

Hold on, will measure the weight and post.. Gimme a couple of minutes..

Wow! that looks good thinker!
I suppose you can try out the fenders for the little bicycles, they may be lesser as compared to that steel bar!

It weighs 65gms.. But then its more than a foot long so once cut to size it should weigh 30-35gms i'm guessing.. Dorwin, thinner lighter ones were also available but I chose the stronger one as its gonna go on my trainer and is expected to see a some rough landings.. They are also available with chrome finish ;D

you will have a hot rod flyer then... ;D;D
hey, what ESC did you use?

@controlflyer: :) Rcforall (DYS) 30A

Can anybody tell me how the HK landing gear is supposed to be attached?

You attach the HK Landing gear in your first pic with 2 nut-bolts, preferably the landing gear beween the fuse belly and a ply on the  top.

By the way the fender retainer you got from cycle shop would flex outward too much than required. you need more tensile rod/wire than used in these retainer.

Hi Ujjwal, the wire I've got is pretty strong and doesn't bend very easily.. Can you explain how to attach with 2 nut-bolts.. or maybe post a pic..

Thanks.

I got Spring Steel wire from SP road area in bangalore. That guy gave me 1M length spring steel for free.
I insisted and gave him 10rs.
Did landing gear with that and the quality is awesome! Takes load of my 500g trainer even in harsh landing during glide test.

@gravity:wats the thickness of the wire? Have u done any heat treatment on it? Can u post the pic of ur landing gear design?

@defyingravity: could you post a pic of your landing gear?

This is a removable landing gear. I found somewhere  in the net, but did some modifications. Now i think this is perfect design.

You need these to build
1. Plastic ruler ( Checkout for good light plastic scale )
2. 2.8mm spring steel wire
3. Nylon Ties
4. Drilling machine
5. 4 carbon fiber strips of 5inch each.
6. Old floppy plastic case. (any light plastic will do.)

Steps
1. Bend the Spring steel wire into desired shape. After bending, do a bit of heat treatment. This would help to make the metal to remain in the shape in which it is bent to and gives a bit more strength.
(I was lazy, so i just did two to three rounds of heating and cooling. It was not red hot though. I did in the cooking stove)

2. Drill the holes as big as the nylon tie which you are going to insert in the pre-drilled holes in the ruler to keep the landing gear in place. Make sure you wont tight it too much. The landing gear wire should move a bit on either side. With this method any impact during landing would not transfer the force in expanding the drilled hole in the ruler.

3. Glue two of the carbon fiber on either side of the plastic ruler.

4. Drill holes in your plane as shown in the attached pictures and reinforce with floppy plastic.
5. Insert the carbon fiber rods in these holes
6. Tie the landing gear to the plane with rubber bands.
7. Make sure you provide padding between the carbon-fiber rods and the inner base of the plane (I havent done this yet). This will make the landing gear HARD CRASH proof.

Attached are the pictures for reference.

More pics

My glide test for landing gear. Until this time, during glide test it used to topple sideways or topple on the nose.  After this landing gear design was used, it just lands perfect.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8rOjfdIls4

Thanks for the details gravity..

nice :thumbsup:

Baba! kaam zale re? hows your LG progressing ?

@gravity:wats the weight of tat plane? Will the LG be suitable for a 700g coro plane?

@krishna .. the plane is around 350 grams without any electronics. With electronics it will be around 600 grams.  I believe it easily take a 1kg load, as nothing happens even if i drop it from 5-6ft height without glide. I can tell you how it actually lands in the field with dirt/sand etc only after my plane is complete.