FMS/Airfield A6M Zero

[wrecker70]

I don't know it they will fit, but dubro makes a nice set of 3" replacement wheels that might take to the grass better. I don't know what mods would be nessary for retracts though

[TheBum]

An update:

I finally got motivated to fix the retract and get the Zero flyable again after watching a guy fly his plane at our field. I stacked three M2.5 washers at each point along the back edge of the retract where it attaches to the mount to give the gear more forward rake. For now, I'll stick with the stock wheels. I'll find out how much it helped the next time I go out.

I also used my heat gun on the low setting to re-form the foam in the area of the retract mount that popped out. To make sure the mount stays put in the wing, I used medium CA all the way around the retract mount to adhere it to a much larger portion of the wing foam than it was from the factory. I still can't believe that the factory only glued the flange where it overlaps the bottom of the wing; I'm seriously contemplating pulling out the other mount and re-gluing it in.

[wrecker70]

Yeah you have to watch the factory glued parts on the FMS stuff, they seem to be cheap with the glue. I always re-glue their landing gear and pull test any questionable parts. Other than that they seem to be pretty good quality for the price, much nicer than Dynam

[TheBum]

Well, it didn't go well at all. I could not get the thing off the ground. I think the biggest problem yesterday was an almost complete lack of wind, meaning that the plane had to generate all of its own airspeed. In our attempts to give it a push, the rudder foam "hinge" broke, which was a pity because I didn't have what I needed to repair it at the field and the wind came up some later in the morning. The hinge is now fixed with some Robart pin hinges, but I need to figure out my next move: either figure out some sort of temporary fabric runway or get a 50+" wingspan plane with non-retract trike gear that will use 4S 2650 packs, something like a WWII fighter trainer.

[ElIntocable]

What about mowing the grass short and making a strip?

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[TheBum]

Originally Posted by ElIntocable

What about mowing the grass short and making a strip?

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It's already mowed really short in the runway area. The problem is that it's about half dirt and half grass patches, so there's a lot for wheels to hang up on.

[TheBum]

I just replaced the wheels on my Zero with 2.75" Dubro low bounce wheels and I'm encouraged by the results on the bench. Because the Dubro wheel rims aren't as thick as the stock rims, I had to add nylon spacers to the axles, which has made the wheels spin a lot easier clamped onto the axle than even letting the wheel free-float on the axle, and significantly easier than the stock wheels. I'm hoping this new freedom of movement will help the plane get rolling easier and less likely to nose over.

[TheBum]

I think the wheels made a significant difference. There was about a 5mph wind vs. no wind the last I tried to fly, but I had no problems taking off on the first try. Unfortunately, the landing didn't go so well, tearing the retract and mount out of the same wing I had just repaired. Next time I use epoxy or maybe Gorilla Glue. I'm not sure if it's my ineptness as an model airplane pilot or the crappy condition of our field.