Keep breaking landing gear....

[Keith C.]

Forgive me if this had been covered. If so please point me in the right direction.

I keep breaking the skid right where the horizontal part connects to the vertical part that slides into the mainframe.

It seems like a difficult place to fix once it's broke.

Has anyone found a way to fix these when they break? How about something to strengthen it before you break it?

I've thought about wrapping thread around the "T" shaped area and then coat it with epoxy or something but that would take a long time. Maybe there's a way you can do it with heat-shrink tubing but I haven't been successful with that yet.

Thanks for any suggestions and I already know I have to land softer.

[witzjr]

Same here...have broken one already. Tried to glue it with a few different types of glue all of which were fail. I have quickly come to learn that keeping 2 of everything on hand is helpful

[RedOctobyr]

I've used JB Weld to fix the landing gear on my mSR. And also to reinforce the weak areas (on the other side of the gear) after I figured out where they were prone to breaking. You can apply it prior to a break, to try and support a fragile area. It may be worth a try.

I had previously tried melting the gear back together, and supergluing it, neither method lasted long. The JB Weld did well, however.

[hydro_pyro]

pores in the plastic make some of them weak. Once you get a good set with no defects, it will never break. Get some spares until you get lucky.

[Heli-Yeah!]

I have repaired mine with the little left over bit from a tiny zip-tie.
I started by cutting down the width of the zip-tie scrap to match as closely as possible to the original pin.
Next I used CA to affix the scrap piece to the skid by wrapping it around the back horizontal of the skid frame, and clamped it with pliers. Let it dry, trim to fit and, voila!

[birch]

I repaired mine by tacking it with CA, wrapping the are with a bit of toilet paper, dab some CA on the TP, wrap with thread, dab CA on the thread. Works like a champ and has not broken again even with some spectacular crashes.

[zeeflyboy]

I'm amazed mine hasn't broken... I had the same problem you describe with the mSR landing gear, but the mCP landing gear has been amazing.

As mentioned above, I think a lot of this must come down to variations in the plastic...

You could try putting the gear in boiling water before you fly it, as this has been known to soften up the plastic and make it more flexible.

Also, resist the temptation to really jam the gear up into the mounts so that it is easier for it to come loose in a crash. Mine has quite often popped out the front mount but hasn't broken to date (touch wood!).

[hydro_pyro]

Delrin is already flexible enough to fold onto itself and spring back into shape.
There's nothing wrong with the design or the plastic formulation-- It's a flaw in the molding process, one that might be impossible to avoid.

Look closely: Every broken skid set has small pore in the plastic at the site of the break.

[shock]

Black sewing thread and CA, just wrap and glue, wrap and glue. Makes for an incredibly strong fix since the thread absorbs the CA and becomes solid.

[intro]

The "easy" fix is black tape. The "cooler" fix is colored tape. Red for the left side and green or yellow for the right side. Stronger gear and helps with visibility disorientation.
The "cooler still" fix is to strip 5/8 inch of the jacket off of some wire, (I don't know the gauge, but whatever fits. Flare it out with a dinner fork if necessary) slide it over the broken ends until they are butted together.
Does it add to the weight? yeah...but negligible.
Stronger than new and no mess.

Flies perfect...good as new

[hydro_pyro]

I swear-- Once you find a good set with no pore flaws, the skids will NEVER break.