bigrcr
06-24-2004, 08:23 PM
Vibration and crash damage at some point can cause the lower aluminum frame rails to break at the front skid mounting points. Many have had this problem in the past. I have seen X-Cell gas machines being flown with the front strut moved back along the lower frame rails to gain a new purchase on the rail for the bolts. In most cases the cracking is directly related to something out of balance or a very lean condition on the motor. The motor being lean will show in the front skids as a vibration and this will quickly fail the bottom rails at the strut mounting holes.
Normal wear and tear over time will also fail the lower rails. They are not expensive to replace, but a very good fix is to be pro-active and make a front frame brace much like the ones used in most X-Cell kits of the past. It is best to do this modification to a new or intact set of rails! :D
I happened to have (from my Pre-Preg days) a carbon plate from which I cut a bottom frame brace to span across the bottom frame rails at the forward LG strut position. This allows for the frames to be tied together and the front LG strut to bear it's forces against a very strong flat plate which greatly reduces stress on the bottom rails.
If you do not have a source for carbon plate, you can substituted some carbon from a broken set of side frames (carbon or G-10), some aluminum or whatever you may have handy.
BTW. Use extreme caution when cutting any carbon fiber. The dust from cutting or grinding is very harmful to breathe! Use a respirator when doing any carbon cutting/grinding.
Later! :glasses2:
Normal wear and tear over time will also fail the lower rails. They are not expensive to replace, but a very good fix is to be pro-active and make a front frame brace much like the ones used in most X-Cell kits of the past. It is best to do this modification to a new or intact set of rails! :D
I happened to have (from my Pre-Preg days) a carbon plate from which I cut a bottom frame brace to span across the bottom frame rails at the forward LG strut position. This allows for the frames to be tied together and the front LG strut to bear it's forces against a very strong flat plate which greatly reduces stress on the bottom rails.
If you do not have a source for carbon plate, you can substituted some carbon from a broken set of side frames (carbon or G-10), some aluminum or whatever you may have handy.
BTW. Use extreme caution when cutting any carbon fiber. The dust from cutting or grinding is very harmful to breathe! Use a respirator when doing any carbon cutting/grinding.
Later! :glasses2: