Wheel breaks

[KingAdora]

Does anyone use these? Bought for? Built themselves?

Interested in the idea of having one on my plane :)

[ronmeister]

I've built one, I copied off the braking system on one of my rc trucks.
I used it on the rear wheel on one of my planes.
To tell you the truth there wasnt enough friction on the wheel originally, so when i applied the brake is just locked up and skidded along the ground.
It did slow down the plane though on a landing, but it wasn't anything special, except the cool factor to others.

[Al M]

At one time they were popular. Probably the late 60's or 70's. You had to come to a stop in a marked circle for the AMA pattern event. Dubro, Rocket City, and ACE RC offered them.

[justerik]

I like to simulate brakes by putting a thin slice of fuel line between the wheel collar and the wheel hub. It adds just enough friction to slow or stop the plane when rolling, but is easily overcome when you advance the throttle. You can vary the effectiveness by slightly compressing the collar against the hub when tightening the collar, or by experimenting with different sizes/grades of fuel line.

[bruff]

EJF.com sells brakes for electric planes.
Bob

[Eric_N57105]

I've built one, I copied off the braking system on one of my rc trucks.
I used it on the rear wheel on one of my planes.
To tell you the truth there wasnt enough friction on the wheel originally, so when i applied the brake is just locked up and skidded along the ground.
It did slow down the plane though on a landing, but it wasn't anything special, except the cool factor to others.

The tailwheel is the worst place to put a brake.

As soon as you apply the brake, the weight transfers forward OFF the wheel and the wheel locks up...just as you experienced.

Notice on cars and motorcycles, the rear brake is often smaller than the front brake. The front brake has to be more powerful than the rear since a lot of the vehicle weight transfers to the front under braking.

Eric

[ronmeister]

The tailwheel is the worst place to put a brake.

As soon as you apply the brake, the weight transfers forward OFF the wheel and the wheel locks up...just as you experienced.

Notice on cars and motorcycles, the rear brake is often smaller than the front brake. The front brake has to be more powerful than the rear since a lot of the vehicle weight transfers to the front under braking.

Eric
Yup, I hear ya, but then again, putting brakes in the front may flip your plane over on the nose.
Of course there are many ways to counter that.

[mcjustis]

I am building some brakes for a jet. They are basically what BVM sells, I am just using an o-ring where they use a quad ring. They function the same though. What's up Ron. Long time no talk... I am building my own retracts, wheels, and brakes to go with my turbine. It's hell being poor, although I do have some nice machinery to work on...
Later...
Martin