ameyam

I am trying to replace the landing gear on my Reactor Bipe 61 (with a 110FS for now and a DLE20 later) because the stock gear looks like it will give way any time soon

I have the following options

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNM65&P=7

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXBAGF&P=Z

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNRG5&P=Z

I already have a Dubro gear (the first one). Was wondering if anyone has used it and if so, what is it like. I wont be able to mount whole, will need to cut in the middle to reduce the mounting width and my airplane is heading towards 4 kgs. I fly of rough grass fields

Ameyam

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Amey, I still have a couple sets of the first link from my fun fly days. They are bullet proof. I got tired of bending and repairing my LG, both wire and aluminum and gave the dubros a try. They work very well. The other two links you posted I don't recall ever using so I have no idea. I figure if they held up to fun fly events they should be great for anyone just wanting to do a normal landing. There is never anything normal in a fun fly event!!

bikerbc

Yes I have used the Super Strength landing Gear and it is fantastic...Very strong..You cant bend it..It dosent bounce..You can paint it..I love it..I use it on everything I can

dignlivn

IMO, the Dubro is the best. I'm not a fan of the 2 piece gear and the
metal one will bend. My Dubro gear is over 5 years old.


Bob

AMA 74894

My Feedback: (1)

+1 more for the Du-Bro ...... however I'm NOT sure what will be the effect of cutting them in 2 as you've suggested doing.
(of course they would look quite odd if the LG were wider than the fuselage section where they're attached.)
I've never been a fan of the two piece LG either... but I've got the Du Bro's on several airplanes including a couple that are used as club trainers...
I've never seen em break and I HAVE seen some um... 'less than perfect' landings made with them.

red head

I tested them ( the DuBro ) when they first came out . The first test was on an Aero Star 40 and it took some pretty hard landing from students and different people I showed it to . I still have it on the same plane after about 10 years.

The other Test was on an Aero Star 60 that I used for a camra plane and Candy drops etc.. I later started hauling some gliders up with it and a " Sky Jumper " that weighed about 3 pounds ( plus the planes 5 # or so depending on what was in it ). The gear is still on both of them but I haven't flown the 60 in about 8 years, the 40 I still fly with students now and then.

Both gear have held up great and it usd to be funny to see the gear struggle under the weight of the 60 plus all the gear in it . I still have a spare that I never had to use. IT'S GREAT !!!

As said above I 'm not sure about cutting it that may just make it real weak as there won't be a FIRM mount. If I were going to try to cut it I think after cutting I would put a metal strap across the cut and use the mounting bolts to hold the strap against the gear. Hope this helps. ENJOY !!! RED

ameyam

I need to give the Dubro another look against the fuse width. last time, i think i found it to be wider. If i do cut it, I will use oversize washers on the bolts tht hold it to the fuse. also will fibreglass the joint after removing the excess
Just one question though, will it take the 4kg (8.8lb) aorplane
ameyam

mooseflier

You guys impress me... lol. I don't think I've ever had a plane long enough to worry about the landing gear giving out. The plane I had the longest... ironically, was my trainer. After that it seems like I build planes to be wrecked. Had an awesome supersportser that got locked up during a snap roll... after about 3 flights... snap rolled itself into the ground after about 50 rolls, boy it was pretty. Had a killer old Chaos build that I folded the wings on during a split-s at about 600 feet... only afater about 50 flights... and the damn thing was fiberglassed. Took me 3 days with a metal detector to find the damn engine! It still runs btw.

john josey

Guy's, what about ground clearence for the prop, from the engines he's mentioned it looks like it will be a 16" prop ?

ameyam

John,

the thinking here is to prevent having the gear give way on the first flight and to handle the numerous thumps I am going to give that airplane learning to 3d low. For the record, I have never had a crash (so far, touch wood) where the airplane was totaled. That is inspite of having numerous (and I mean numerous) deadsticks. I have had a tail crack taking off cross wing on my Tiger 40, I had a Reactor 46 hit the ground on the LG so hard that the whole fuse cracked. I had a Phoenix Extra with a DLE 20 deadstick trying to hover high, then land at such speed that I went across the field in 4 or 5 seconds. But all on the gear. Those airplanes had metal gears and those just bent out on landing. Put them in a vice and bent them back. But the Reactor Bipe has a fibreglass gear which is bending out even when I havent installed the engine. I usually spend a lot of time setting up the airplane, I dont want it to become a heap in the first flight

Ameyam

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Amey, You don't really land a 3-D plane, they tend to more just get set down on there wheels. I only have the one small 3-D plane and it tends to get a Harrier landing if there is any wind at all and sort of plops and rolls a few inches on a calm day.
I looked at a set of the DuBro gears I have on hand yesterday and what I noticed was there weight. I used them on an Up-Roar last and they weigh more then a set of wire gear I made up for the plane.
Are you able to buy piano wire there?? If so and you have a vise I can give you a photo essay on how to build your own custom light weight landing gear. I just made up a set for that electric plane I'm building for a friend yesterday. If I didn't bend up my wire gear on a Fun Fly plane I used to compete with I'm pretty sure they will work for you on a 3-D plane.
Moose, I would have asked you how you managed to fold a wing on a Kaos, one of my all time favorite planes, buy I managed to fold one on my 80 inch Kaos while I was being a smartass and showing off doing snap rolls. The plane was about 20 years old but I finally managed to kill it. I wasn't the original builder, I was just the dumbass that was flying it like it was a 60 size and put it in it's grave. I tend to over stress my planes.

ameyam

Yes GB, they do that, the 3D airplanes. As long as there is atleast some power. If you dont have power, airspeed or heights, they dont land that way

I need to look for piano wire but the main problem with them is that they are too springy or too heavy. Let me see

Ameyam

red head

Yes it will take an 8.8 plane as is. I wouldn't be so sure if you cut it. ENJOY !!! RED

opjose

As they say, a picture is worth....





Easy to install, and it works wonders for the strength of the gear.

You can purchase the pre-built wire holders here or make your own: [link=http://www.bennettbuilt.com/shop/WheelsBB_Landing_Gear_Reinforcement_Standoffs_14.h tml]Click me![/link]

If the link doesn't work try typing in http://bennettbuilt.com/ to your web browser. Once there look under "Wheels".

ameyam

I remember the picture. I didnt get the link though, couldnt source it last time. That link stoll doesnt work though

Ameyam

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

B&B Specialties sells the LG reinforcements Jose is showing, the link didn't open for me either. www.bennettbuilt.com The catalog I have is from 2008 so don't know if that will open either? The price for the kit is $9.00.

opjose

The link is good in the source code, but when you click on it you end up with something completely different.

I amended the directions above on where to find the part. And yes they are still $9.00 for a set of four. I got in two sets last week.

Sadly Mr. Bennett passed away late the year before last. Nice guy. He helped me out at the Toledo show with parts for my GPU450 gasser.

ameyam

Bennetbuilt, i dont think, ship to my part of the world. but let me see if i can get this made locally. i had made a cad drawing of this sometime back but couldnt follow up with the workshop. let me see what is possibl
ameyam

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

If you have anyone with a good drill press they can be made from bolts. If you know someone with a drill press and a lathe they can be made very light like the originals Jose gets.
Until now I didn't know mr. Bennett passed. I have only ordered from him a few times for engine parts. Is B&B still in operation?
Amey, being in India and a modeler is a bit of a problem. For landing gear I have made them from street signs. Here in the states they are made of thick aluminum and you can cut the LG using a band saw then bending in a vise but in your case maybe piano wire gear may be the way to go.
Zor once mentioned spring steel to me so I asked my son that has a scrap metal place in Calif. about getting some and all he ever gets is small little pieces. He told me where I could go to buy it but you really need to locate a spring maker to get the stuff.
Every hobby shop here has piano wire though and it's easy to bend with a good vise and very strong. If you have never made wire gear I can do a photo essay for you. I make up my own wire gear all the time.

ameyam

Hi Gb,
sorry I couldnt get back earlier. Bending aluminium into LG wouldnt be possible. Though I may get aluminium, band saws arent easy to find. But the bolt was a terrific idea. I have a good family friend who is also a fellow flier. He has a workshop so I aslked him and he has agreed to help me. Still, i need a week or two to get around to it for health reasons. I also am concerned that the LG may not be wide enough to take that bolt through and I couldnt check for fitting with the dubro gear. If nothing else works, I will cut it in half, then use a aluminium flat across to hold the halves. Lets see whats possibl
Ameyam

carrellh

I think a flat aluminum plate reinforcing the seam will keep the dubro gear plenty strong if you do need to narrow it.

opjose

Their web site was down for a couple of months after his passing, but the family decided to keep the business going.

They were at the Toledo show last year too.

Gray Beard

My Feedback: (-1)

Going to try to post 3 photos, you know that takes a lot of luck to do. Just food for thought. The LG you are asking about and they come in several sizes. Some I cut and bent myself but the aluminum takes a good band saw and vise to cut and bend. The 5/32 piano wire gear I made for a fun fly plane from piano wire, some copper wire to wrap and solder. I made it 14 inches wide and is the lightest set on this table. The gear on the plane is what I made up the other day, it's 5/32 wire for the main and 3/32 for the rear reinforcement wire. Very light weight but it's for a large, very light electric plane with big tundra tires just for that old time look. There is a nut that has been ground and drilled, it's too big for what you need but it will give you the idea of how it can be done instead of ordering the set from B&B. You can make wire gear as tall as you need to clear the prop. I even have some wire gear I made for a 16 pound bipe with a 20 inch prop. Just something to help give you some ideas.
Gene

ameyam

fitted the engint today. Took the same moment to check the LG fitting. The Dubro fits without any modification. I just need to fill in the old holes with a dowel (or epoxy mixesd with sawdust) and re drill fot the new gear. The Dubro will also need to be painted. Didnt have the time for that, so will do it at a later date. Also need to fit in new larger wheels & manifolds for the exhaust that will take time to come. l will update once I run-in the engin
Ameyam

ameyam

Finished the Reactor Bipe 61 build today (sorry I didnt take photos, may be tomorrow). Finished all the small pending activities- sleeving the top wing cables, tubing the tank, Making space for the batteries. Then in the process the wing bolt blind nut slipped out of place, I epoxyed it back in place. Also set the throttle. I need to redo the lower wing wiring, then sleeve it so that it doesnt snag during assembly, will do it tomorrow. Mounted the engine muffler and connected everything. Took most of the day and now I am drained. I even made the dowels to plug the stock LG holes. Then just to check I yanked the gears apart. There was a loud crack but we couldnt locate where it came from. There are no apparent cracks in the gear of mount. When a friend again yanked it in the evening, it didnt crack. He summed it up- its very flexible but doesnt seem likely to break. So I am sticking with the stock gear for now. Also, the engine will be run-in on Tuesday.

Even then, the total weight without cowl is 3.65kg or 8lb exactly. That weight isint too much over the advertised 3.4-3.6kg. But considering the firewall fiberglassing, thickened and strengthened landing gear block and standard high-torque servos all round, thats not too bad. But 3.65kg for a 48" bipe??? I have the FS110A in it and it balances perfectly without fuel. Still cant get my head around the weight though. This is supposed to be a 3D airplane...

Ameyam