what kind of landing gear can i put on my acro-jet ( anyone got pics?)

[lxelementxl]

well ive been trying to put planding gear on my acro-jet for a couple of days they have all been to heavy. anyone got pics of landing gear (like homemade?)

[nitebat]

lxelementxl:

Here's what I did wi' my bipe. Went to the hobby store 'n' picked up a couple o' those balsa elastic windups. Took the wheels off the wire gear (which was way to heavy). I used fiberglass rod (carbon fiber would work) for the axle. Then I put sleaves made out o' the clear flexible fuel line for model planes on either side o' the wheels to hold them in place 'n' glued the sleaves down. Since the wheels spin free on the axle, you can glue it right to the bottom o' the plane. Tape the axle on first so you can find the "sweet spot" for take off, under power, glide 'n' landin'. Then glue it down. On the bipe, I reamed a hole through the body 'bout 5mm from the bottom for the axle.

This gives two wheel front or rear laning gear. If rear, then nose gear can be made the same way, one wheel on the axle. You can dig a well in the body 'n' glue the axle to the body or to foam risers. Havin' the nose up shortens take off. If you make two wheel front gear, a simple tail skid will do for smooth surfaces (indoor). For outside, roads, concrete 'n' such, shock absortion is a must. The best thing I've seen for that (somewhere in the forum) is to find the smallest safety pins you can find 'n' mount your axles to that, leavin' the coil spring in place. Trial 'n' error will tell you what angle to tilt them at. Bend the pin side into a triangle 'n' glue it 'bween two sqares o' thin plastic. You can then use two way tape to fix it to the body.

Hope this helps. Keep it light. On the Acro Jet, you can shave off the bottom tab on the rear o' the body to help mitigate the weight gain from the gear.

nitebat

[CanardianFan]

I have been working on it, but haven't finalized it yet.

I used similar wheels, with the wire. I cut them in the center, and bent the wire a couple of times, so that it sticks into the foam of the fuselage, under the wing, and gets a couple of small pieces of tape to try holding it into the corner between the fuse and the wing. Not the most stable.

instead of nose gear, I tried paper clips, and thin copper wire rod, and ended up using a small coarse thread screw to attach a small nose skid. Very heavy. helps with anti-porpoising, but dampens the climbing ability a bit too much.

so I am re-thinking the whole gear... But most of the hobby shops around are pretty sparse on building supplies. have to go out of town to find stuff like carbon rods.

Good idea on the foam modification, which will allow a taller nose gear without dragging.

[Sirion]

Here's some pics - "clip on" solution from plastic milk bottle handles - no need to butcher the model and full adjustment for CG & ROG angle of attack, etc. can also transfer from model to model; even change wheels till it's the right stuff. The Sports performs a bit better with wheels - very stable and good in the wind - last pic for comparison.

The AcroJet has the yellow centred wheels and also flies well but bigger wheels are needed at the back on it to keep the tail off the deck so it adds a little more weight and drag. Both plastic frames are identical here for the two models but I did reduce the length of the front Fury leg later which would allowed smaller rear wheels- like on the Sports.

Simply split the plastic handle and cut to provide the front "spats". Use smallest drill bit & force wire through holes (it will not move), then use paper punch to cut small plastic "keepers" and drill same for wheel retention - just slide on and they lock; easy. The whole frame simply locks on the fuse without glue. If flying at night use the same frame fitted with a cascading light badge - spectacular at dusk. :)

Track width can be tailored to get best stability - start wide and reduce till swerving on T/O is still controlled to prevent toppling - use the Tx trim to ensure straight tracking when the model is rolling. When landing, get the glide path right then about a foot off the deck apply a little throttle to achieve flareout and soft touchdown.

The performance of these little foamies with wheels make +7 channel "serious" RC operators jealous.

[smooney3]

Sirion, that looks great! Where did you get the wheels? Just stolen from other things, I guess? I might just have to give that a try. How does it fly with the wheels on? I tried using wheels from Hot Wheels cars on it, but I couldn't get it quite right to keep the tail off the ground. However, they work crazy good for the PowerHawk. Lifts off in like 5' if I go downhill or into a little wind.

[Sirion]

Hi Smooney - Wheels are LHS model aeroplane foam wheels on plastic hubs - various sizes, very light - made by "Haoye" model parts supplier (China) - the little ones - black & white - are 17mm dia x 10mm wide tire. All the sizes up to and over 1 inch dia available. Most of mine cost around AU$2.50 for a pair. If you look at the rack of wheels in the nearest LHS they should have them. Some have very small axle holes and I initially used LHS wire with plastic tubing keepers but the next lot had bigger holes and the plastic tubing itself would have been OK as the axles. Just drill a smaller hole in the plastic than the axle dia and you'll get an "interference" fit which won't move but can be slid in/out to change wheels & keepers, etc.

Had to experiment a bit to get the sizes and plastic frame right but eventually made it one piece and like "Nitebat" had to fiddle with the nose wheel leg height to get an angle of attack which would achieve T/O for the Fury but not get tail drag. The other thing was to ensure the props stay clear of the deck. The Sports was easier because of the fuse shape.

The system does add a bit of weight but by sliding the assembly fore or aft you can get the CG right to stop any porpoising instead of using the usual nose weights. When flying, both types climb well and are much more stable in the turns, especially in the wind if flying outside. I fly in a big cycling dome - see pic - with a central (green) area used for ROG's, so with this gear can mix it with the big boys and achieve long takeoffs and precision landings - increases the fun factor. :)

The same frame without wheels can be used to mount ripple LED light badges - they're sold for all the football teams here and have 6 bright LEDs of different colours depending on the team which cycle very quickly and can easily be seen from 200 ft.

[nitebat]

Sirion:

Elegant solution! Soft tires will help on roads 'n' such. Haven' found any light enough yet. I'm sure we can all find plastic bottles wi' handles jus' the right size for our undercarriage. I'd be drillin' out some o' the plastic to make it lighter though. Helps break up the air flow too.

nitebat

[Plastic_Avatar]

Here's some pics - "clip on" solution from plastic milk bottle handles - no need to butcher the model and full adjustment for CG & ROG angle of attack, etc. can also transfer from model to model; even change wheels till it's the right stuff.

I saw your landing gear in another post, and I have to say it's a very practical and elegantly utilitarian solution =)

We don't drink milk in jugs anymore, so I'm going to scour the garage for something with a similar handle.

Kudos.

-S(n)

[Sirion]

Good luck guys. If you really get stuck, I can always send a couple of handles over in the mail but I'm sure there's a few bottles around - maybe of the detergent or disinfectant kind, for instance - that would do the job. Plus, you'll be doing your recycling bit for the planet :D . Fortunately over here, all the spare plastic goes through this state's recycling program anyway but at the moment I won't tell you how many spare bottles I've got lined up (or my better half's remarks) just in case more landing gear is needed. :)

BTW if you go to the thread "New Silverlit Products" - see page 2 of this Micro RTF forum you'll see that some of the new stuff is going to be ROG equipped.

Here's the link -

http://www.flyingtoys.co.uk/silverlit.html

Have fun :cool: