Landing Skids

[SpunOut]

hey guys, i have broke 3 so far, granted i had two landings a little harder than i wanted but im in colorado and its cold, making plastic very brittle... i need aluminuim...
What has anyone tried? does Align or thunder t work?

[jbeech]

Are the gear legs bolted on, or zip tied on?

[SpunOut]

Bolted on, i know a weak spot is good, but the last time the whole right side broke off and caused the blades to get shaved down.

[jbeech]

There's a reason for the Pro Tip about zip tying the gears to the frames pal. Under hard-ish impact they shear off. You add collective and go around, e.g. set up for another attempt (or figure out what to do, e.g. land on what remains if they didn't just shear off, which is what the whole idea is to begin with).

Anyway, aluminum struts brings a host of new problems, so file this under "be careful what you wish for". Moreover, unless there's something I'm not aware of, neither of my Chinese competitors offer an aluminum landing gear strut option.

My 2¢

[The Dude II]

Only time I break mine is when I deserve it...like inverted 20' up, motor runs lean, attempt to flip it over and "drop" on the skids from about 10'...break.

Freak'd out night-flying the FBL project...slammed the collective down
(thinking in hover but actually in Idl1) from about 2' off the ground...snap again.

Real world flying without hard landings or brain-farts i find the skids are tough enough..

Cold weather brings with it the needed kids' gloves handling for some aspects.

[helipainter]

I saw something like these on a raptor browsing forums

http://www.helihobby.com/html/raptor_composites.html

2nd and 4th down

[kazager]

I switched to Trex 600N gear & skids, after I broke 2 sets, haven't broken any since. You need to drill new holes & countersink the screw heads.

[SpunOut]

I wasnt very high either one of the times, the last was a bit of a panic, my carbsmart decided to go full lean and speed up the motor as i was just hovering 5-10' ish
(my fault setting it up with to much travel..another story) anyways its only my 3rd time in the air with her and still havent worked out all the bugs, throttle curves and getting a stable hover, (yet another story) but i did kinda bring it down too fast. but with 40ish weather plastic dont flex very well. i will try the pro tip and give the plastic skids another try. or get aluminuim and zip tie em....if hobbytown doesnt have any pantera skids in stock.

[F6Hawk]

http://www.ewtech.com/Merchant2/merc...t_Code=HHI2004

JR makes these as well, or maybe it is Hirobo. Have seen them at my LHS. Might save the gear, worth the money, IMHO.

[grwarlock]

Originally Posted by SpunOut

I wasnt very high either one of the times, the last was a bit of a panic, my carbsmart decided to go full lean and speed up the motor as i was just hovering 5-10' ish
(my fault setting it up with to much travel..another story) anyways its only my 3rd time in the air with her and still havent worked out all the bugs, throttle curves and getting a stable hover, (yet another story) but i did kinda bring it down too fast. but with 40ish weather plastic dont flex very well. i will try the pro tip and give the plastic skids another try. or get aluminuim and zip tie em....if hobbytown doesnt have any pantera skids in stock.

Hobbytown, home of the 35.00 15% fuel. No use for these price gougers.

Sorry, I have no use for those that want to break it off in ya.

You might want to try setting up some expo around center stick so your collective is not so touchy as to land hard. Makes for more control and the ability to soft land it.

[fyrefighter2]

It may be the warmer weather here in Bama or I just may have been lucky as hell...lol...cause I have come down pretty hard several times...and only broke the gear off on the one time I got the stupid thumbs and cut the collective from about 5 foot... and that got a lot more than just gear...hey we have to keep JB in business on parts..right? Pray for springtime!!

[STATUS]

Invest in a set of these spring loaded (nice cushion), ive just ordered a set. Im sure the rappy ones will adapt easy enough.

http://www.xgearheli.com/raptor%203050.htm

[SpunOut]

Damn....those look bad ass..next we will be putting a lift kits and fox coilovers on our birds.....jk...i do really like the concept and did i mention bad ass looking!

[jbeech]

Roll Tide fyrefighter2, Roll Tide! That's two Roll Tides, one for the Hell of it, the other for the sentiment of keeping me in business by buying parts <g>

I only wish I were in Atlanta with tickets in hand next week for the showdown with the Gators . . . Roll Tide Roll

[fyrefighter2]

ROLL TIDE ROLL right back at ya JB!! No tickets here either but will make do with my big butt parked in front of the 52 inch HD TV and plenty of my favorite adult beverages to keep me company. Will have to hit the flying field early to make sure back here in time to get fired up.

Ohhh and just to stay on topic....I will use my reclineer as a landing gear for my big ass!!! lol

stay safe and fly hard

[deisel]

hey guys it could be worse your state team could be the panthers

[grwarlock]

WTH, Panthers ?

Why did you embarrass us like that. Damn Diesel

[F6Hawk]

Back on topic... those Xgears are nice, but WHAT a price!! $65 + shipping. Wow! You guys think they are worth it?

[jbeech]

Back when we lived in Carolina I was really into the Panthers. But I got somewhat frustrated with Fox's decision to bench Chris Weinke in favor of Jake Del Homme. This took something out of it for me because I didn't feel he'd gotten a really fair shot at the gig. I mean the knock against him was he was old. But considering he navigated his college team to a number 2 ranking as a sphomore, a national championship as a junior, and as a senior led the nation in passing 'and' won the Heisman, I really couldn't figure what went wrong. I figure it must have been either bad chemistry, or it was because Fox dwasn't the guy to bring him aboard, e.g. he was shoved down his throat. Nevertheless, I viewed CW as a franchise quarterback and bever saw Jake as more than a journeyman. A capable journeyman, but not 'the' man, understand? So sad for Weinke, he got the boot because he wasn't Fox's guy, and that was that. Then again, I didn't want the 4 million Dollar man (prefering to keep Shula a few more years), which goes to show I am as smart as I like to think I am <g>

Anyway, when we moved to Florida a few years back I had an embarrassment of pro riches, err, an embarrassment of teams, err, several teams to choose from - none of them winners. So I switched alligeance to the 'Fins . . . and have basically suffered like a Cubs fan!

Of course, none of this changes anything with respect to Alabama - even if we moved to the moon! All I know is this, Florida looks great, Tebow is the greatest ever, no question. I feel the pubdits who say he'll never take a snap as a pro are all wet. Anyway, we're gonna have a war on our hands come Saturday! I, for one, only hope we can win this one. Am I excited about college football? Yup, you betcha! Pros not so much. Frankly, compared to most pro fans, I'm a poser - witness my switching teams. Of course, if we bring the '74 Ams into the conversation, it's a different story. Do you remember them? Mira to Willingham, 13 winnig home games . . . undefeated baby! I was at several of their games.

Finally, with respect to the clunky landing gear, in my view it's not merely unsightly but unnecessary. Frankly, there's a lot to be said for keeping things simple. Then again, you guys know that's pretty much always my mantra, right? As for the price, considering all you're getting, I think $65 seems pretty fair!

My 2¢

[STATUS]

for a beginer i reckon its money well spent, especially on a pantera where the boom to blade clearance is fairly small,i know my first heavy landing included a boom strike and TBH i dont reckon you could fab one up yourself for $65... i mean i charge 120 ph for my labour, it would take me more than a half hour to mill up something like that...... a few days maybe.