Painting Landing Gear

[Scott07]

I'm flying a 450x which comes with white landing gear stock. I've always found this difficult to keep track of, orientation-wise, when the heli is any distance away from me. Is spraying them black a good idea to help with contrast? Or am I inadvertently going to be re-enforcing a bad habit (not sure if it is or not) of using the landing gear to help with my orientation?

[oliver1071]

Whatever helps you at this point it doesn't matter. I put some pink duct tape on the boom of my one 500 because I was losing it on the cloudy crappy winter days. Seemed to help me.

[JWeber]

I don't like white landing gear. I bought some good paint from HobbyTown and spray them orange. My fav color for flying. Although that fluorescent yellow that they use on fishing lures is a close second.

But Oliver is right. Anything that helps you is good. Try some different things. I've also put a wrap of orange tape near the end of my boom for visibility. Esp for models that I fly in front of trees.

[Scott07]

Thank you both for your replies. Yea, I've always thought the stock colors on the 450x were less than ideal for visibility. Especially here in Pittsburgh where probably 50% of the time I fly, its overcast to some degree loll. I bought the red canopy a while back for this reason, and looks like i'll be making some other changes to help further.

[jbobb1]

You can also dye your skids.

[Scott07]

Originally Posted by jbobb1

You can also dye your skids.

how do I do this? what type of dye?

[jbobb1]

I use liquid RIT dye. You can buy it about anywhere. Get a container that you can fit your part in with a little room. Boil enough water in a pan that will cover your part completely. Pour the boiling water over your part and add the dye (this might take a few times to get the color you want). Leave in the dye bath for about 30 min and check color. Once you're ok with the color, rinse the part with cold water. Done!

[Scott07]

Nice! ok, project time

[oliver1071]

Yeah the winter has been really bad. I went with a custom canomod color on my one heli. I think I may do the same with some of my others it's fantastic on those grey overcast days.

[Scott07]

Wow, that pink looks fantastic! I would have never thought, but that looks really really good.... and I'm sure visibility isn't an issue.

[oliver1071]

Thanks. The price is good to as long as you buy enough for the free shipping it's the same as stock parts. For custom work of your choice.