tsfarrell

The landing strut assembly for the Blade mSR is pretty flimsy. Even when handled with care, I've found the front of the carriage can crack, and worse, the tab which inserts into the forward slot will just break off (in a moderately hard landing). I bought a replacement landing strut carriage assembly and had a repeat of same. It doesn't help that inserting and removing battery places stress on the carriage. (This gets particularly problematic as the labels start to peel off the batteries and they get stuck in the battery clamps.

The rear tab seems not to break off and the carriage/battery holds pretty well with just the one tab. However they fall out if the plan drops from just a couple feet up, and whatever trim has been established may be lost, since replacing the carriage/battery never results in quite the same balance. This is especially the case because, without two tabs holding the carriage on, the battery weight may be shifted left or right. Bummer.

I have tried carefully gluing these strut carriages back togethre with epoxy but they are no more sturdy and the epoxy joints to not hold for long. I would really like suggestions for how t work with these carriages or else work around them.

Yes, it has occured to me to permanently epoxy the carriage to the heli. However there are times when one needs access for maintenance to the heli's underside without the carriage in the way. Furthermore, one might get epoxy on the motors/gears.I do think however that epoxy would work much better this way, with the broken tabs out of the way. I'm not going to try this approach.

One oter idea I have had is perhaps using vecro where the tabs tend to break off(and have to be carefully removed from their slots). Only thing is that there is next to no room for even a small dot of velcro on the underside of the heli. There are gears nearby. Plus, the smaller the velcro pad the less hold can be achieved. It has occured to methat one can use te velcro strips which come with the batteries to attach directly to the inside of the bottom of the shell. I have both the larger and smaller batteries and I think this approach would really only work with the longer ones.

I imagine this is a common problem. The carriage has to be lightweight. Landings are not always smooth. I feel certain that somebody must have come up with som decent mods either to the existing strut carriage or else crafting a replacement strut assembly.IWOULDREALLYLOVESOMESUGGESTIONS.It occurs to me that there are some incredibly light and extremely durable composite substances which they are now using in passenger aircraft. Why the strut carriage assembly could not be made out of someting like this Ijust don't know.

I would be happy just velcroing the battery to the shell and improvising some reasonable struts which don't hold the battery. However, Ithink the heli would be weighted too far to the front.. Not sure if manuallay adjusting the servo rods could properly compensate. But really, if the struts did not have to double as battery holder, all one would need would be simple struts which would hold the heli upright upon landing. That's something to think about Iguess?

This is pretty frustrating. But if this is my only problem at this point I am doing pretty good Iguess.

Thanks for any comments

MannyEdge

My Feedback: (9)

I have the same problem with it breaking. I will be watching this thread carefully!!

MannyEdge

My Feedback: (9)

Are you able to use the training gear for the BCX for the MSR?

Thanks in advance!!!

georgbonnevie

This is how I improved the mSR.
Tail motor: I found that an aluminium plate 0.6 mm thick and 2.5 x 16 mm does the job if you bend the plate like the letter U and use some epoxy glue for mounting. CA glue do not bind on the surface of the tail motor. Afterwards I mounted a piece of heat shrink to protect the wires.
Landing strut: I also found a solution to the week point at the landing strut front pin. When it broke I simply designed an aluminium part to fit in - again using the 0.6 mm alu plate 10 x 18 mm bend around the front leg connection pin. With a small wire cutter I formed it to pass into the hole in the frame. Simple, but annoying work to do because of the small dimensions.
Since I improved the mSR as mentioned, I have nothing broken on it.

tsfarrell

georgbonnevie ... those are interesting mods using aluminum! Idid not heed warning I read to use a thin strip of electrical tape on rudder motor and ended up having to spend $15 5o replace that. Ilike your use of aluminum better than the electrical tape. Also the heat sink stuff. Also interesting how you modded the landing strut. Thanks for sharing.

Regarding the training gear for the BCX which ManyEdge asked,I have ho idea?

In general, I am still thinking about using the velcro to attach battery to inside of bottom of shell.

Hmm ... I also find it irritating how easily the shell can come off in a minor crash. Well, if the thing worked perfectly all the timeit really would be no challenge, right?

pat35

hi i just wanted to let you know that www.micro-flight.com has a pretty sweet landing gear for the msr for $10 bucks plus shipping i have one on mine it blows away the stock lg

MannyEdge

My Feedback: (9)

They look pretty sturdy, but the shipping cost for me will be $6.50. I think that is a little bit steep to pay for first class mail.

tsfarrell

awesome! going to order one right away. thanks!

tsfarrell

Hey, queston for you about the micro-fligh.com struts ... I see it requires some assembly? Mentions "CAglue". I have no idea what that is. Does it come with the struts kit?Else where does one buy it? Thanks again.

pat35

its basically super glue and you can get it from them, also and they have instructions with it too

tsfarrell

Yes, thanks. Actually, Iused my head and googled it and went ahead and ordered both the struts and glue.Did not increase shipping costs. Ilook forward to having this issue resolved. Thanks again for your input.

Sasquatchin

I have never had a landing gear break on me, and I have had some hard landings. I have never had a rear rotor motor issue either, but I was told up front to use a piece of heat shrink tubing over the motor/wires up to where it met the clamp to stop the end cap from breaking off, or the motor from sliding forward.

I have put roughly 50 battery charges through my MSR in the short time I have had it and never had an issue except for one tail rotor slipping on the shaft...and that cost $1.99 to replace. Oh, and one mid air collision with a friend flying my novus CX, it destroyed the canopy, but I taped it back together with masking tape, lol.


Thanks for the info on the landing gear for when it does happen.

bcr1953chevy

My indoor flying space is only about 12 FT x 14 FT with a 7 FT ceiling. I'm pretty new at helicopters and my Blade MSR is only about two weeks old. Most of my flights end in a hard landing. So far, I've stripped the screws out of the main blade clamps and just recently broke the landing gear. After reading this thread, I ordered a set of landing gear from Micro Flight yesterday. In the mean time, I decided to attempt some repairs of the Blade landing skid. I used georgebonnevie's suggestion and picked up some .025 aluminum at the local True Value hardware store. I also purchsed some marine grade epoxy.

I was able to remove the plastic pin from the heli main frame and re-use it so I did not have to fashion one from the aluminum sheet. I epoxied the pin back onto the gear. (Photos attached.)

I also turned my plastic parts box into a heli holder so that I could work on the heli.

I did try to repair the gear using glue called "Plastic Surgery" that said that it would glue plastic including nylon. No luck. It would not hold. Ibelieve that it is just super glue under another name.

The epoxy requires hours to cure so I've not put it back in the air since I made the repairs but it appears to be hoding "on the bench".

bcr1953chevy

Put the gear on it this morning before I left for work. Did not have a change to fly it yet but the landing gear did fit into the holes in the body. If you make the same repair that I did, be careful to keep the epoxy on the end of the pin. If you get epoxy on the side of the pin, it won't fit up into the hole in the body.

I received an email from Micro Flight that my new landing gear shipped. I'll probably receive it the beginning of next week.

AE3007A1P

I stumbled upon this aluminum MSR landing gear on ebay. While it looks interesting, I don't think I'd want the added weight and can find more interesting ways to blow $40 + shipping on other upgrades.  

bcr1953chevy

I installed the epoxy repaired gear last evening. The front pin broke off after the second flight. The aluminum pin shown in a previous post is probably the better repair.

Iordered the fiberglass landing gear and CA glue (yes, it's superglue, ethyl cyanoacrylate) from Micro Flight on Wednesday. They shipped it same day and I received it yesterday. FYI, I ordered two, they shipped one. I contacted them via email in the AM and they replied and shipped the second one in the afternoon. My shipment came via Priority Mail and I could track it from them to me.

The new gear requires assembly and patience. The CAglue takes 30 to 60 minutes to dry. I glued the fiberglass pieces together last evening and left them dry overnight. I installed the strut tubes this morning. The directions say to pinch them with a pair of pliers to fit them into the fiberglass supports. Itried using my hemostats but they were not strong enough. You need a pair of pliers to compress the plastic strut tubes. Ipressed the skids on and touched all the joints with CAglue. Now, Iwait.

The landing gear appears to be sturdier than the original MSRgear. We'll see how well it holds up to flight testing probably later today (assuming the CAglue dries).

I wonder if CAglue is the right glue for this application? A dab of epoxy might be a better choice. I can report that if you pick up the fiberglass in the wrong spot while the CAglue is still wet, it immediately sticks to your fingers. If I ever lose my MSR, I can prove it is mine by having the authorities check the landing gear for my DNA.

tsfarrell

Ifound the MIATuff struts kit not all that tuff, and some of the parts not fitting one another so well. Broke a nylon screw trying to thread it through the supplied rubber spacer, after having already had to use a small drill bit to open up the hole it has to fit through in the fiberglass of the strut base. Will have to go buy a couple replacement screws I guess.

I also realized, after assembly, that, while the MIATuff strut assembly fits into the mounting holes on the mSR, it juts out behind the mSR shell and looks kind of strange.Well, I really don't care so long as it does the job and reamins stable. It's clear that it is intended for use with the alternative shell from MIATuff.

I agree that assembling the thing with CAglue was messy. I haven't built a plastic model anything sinceI was like 8 and had no real desire to do so here. Again, if this yields a strong base which doesn't fall off, I guess it's worth it. Iwill note that the construction of the base does seem such that it will help preserve the heli guts upon a hard landing. Though the parts are pretty tough ther is a lot of spring in the assembled struts.

I am just glad that I will no longer have to worry about seeing battery dangling on its wires when the original struts fall off.

bcr1953chevy

Itoo had to drill the fiberglass to get the nylon screw to fit through it. I also had to drill the frame of the MSRwith a 5/64" bit to get the screws to thread into it. The original holes are not round. They are made to fit the flat pins on the stock landing gear. I did not have difficulty wih the rubber spaces. I pushed them on as far as Icould and then threaded them the rest of the way.

The battery attachment leaves something to be desired. With the original gear, I could plug the wire into the battery, wait for the gyro to sync and then slide the battery into the holder. So far, I've found that a single rubber band on the front battery holder will hold the battery. I've not tried to slide the battery in after it is connected.

I have other issues with the MSR. I replaced the main rotor grips and now it won't fly correctly. But then that is a topic on another post.

Iagree that the gear is sturdier. Ijust hope that those nylon screws don't break off in the mainframe or they'll be impossible to get out.

Let me know how you make out with your MSR after you get it flying. Any suggestions regarding center of gravity and battery position will be appreciated.

tsfarrell

Had the same issue with the hole size on the frame and use a little drill bit to expand that. Rather than look for replacement screws at HomeDepot, I looked through my extensive collection of broken and/or antiquated electronics. Found suitable metal screws on the battery pack of my 1995 90 MHzPentium laptop.

And oh my the fun I had with the CAglue! My hands are still stinging two days later!

Now that I have the whole thing together, my big concern is for the weight which the MIA Tuff struts add to the heli. Without battery and with the new struts the total weight is right at 1 ounce. I hate to weigh the thing down when mSR went to such extremes to create a truly light craft. (In fact, whenI tried to weight the shell alone I could not even get it to register on my little kitchen food scale!)

I would love to hear what anybody else has to suggest regarding the added weight from the MIATuff struts. If Ifind it prohibitively heavy, well, I now have a much better idea of how to repair the original struts and reinforce them. We shall see.

Hmm ... I also am not in love with the rubber bands for attaching battery. Especially because the mounting screws are what the battery will have to rest on. I may use the velcro strips which came with a couple of my ne batteries. What rubber bands tend to do best is ... break!

Anyway I don' mean to trash the MIATuff struts. Especially before I have even tested the mSR with them fully attached! (Will do so next hour.)

tsfarrell

Hmm ... did a test flight with new MIATuff struts. Interesting changge in flight characteristics in a good way perhaps a bit more stable. On the negative side:

1. I had to untighten my mounting screws because the struts assembly was binding against the servo gears. Upon a hard landing Istill hear a little whine signifying that there is momentary contact.PerhapsI need to further untighten.
2. With the added weight in the MIA Tuff struts, the heli lands "harder."Granted that two objects of different weights will fall at identical rate given no air drag. With the original struts the whole heli is so light that air drag seems to result in a very low impact landing, even when crashing. The MIATuff struts seem to add enough weight to result in higher impact landing. I am rather concerned about the wear this may place on the mSR. The rubber spacers really don't offer sufficient shock absorption to counteract the impact force. I actually had one the rods upon which the shell mounts snap off on a drop of about 3 feet. HopeCAglue can bond it back on successfully.

As with everything there are pluses and minuses. Will have to work with these struts further but I am thinking it may make sense (for me) to rebuild/reinforce the orginal struts.

All just my opinion.

bcr1953chevy

I found that it takes a lot more throttle to get it off the ground. It used to lift and climb just below 1/2 throttle. Now I have to get above 1/2 throttle for it to lift at all. My gear does not hit the servo gears. I have about 1/16" of clearance between the gears and the landing gear. Maybe you tightened the screws too hard on the rubber spacers before you installed the gear.

Going back to the stock landing gear will be difficult since we drilled out the holes in the main body.

Currently my MSR is screwed up due to a main rotor repair but that is another issue. The replacement grips came with rubber O rings and washers. In installed them when I replaced the grips (screws were stripped due to "landings"). Now mine just toilet bowls VERY badly, flys backwards, tilts to one side and then crashes. All of that is on another thread. If you have some input, can you review that thread and reply there or PM me?

tsfarrell

I weighed the MIA Tuff struts separate from the heli and they seem to be about 1/8 ounce. Meanwhile, the original struts weigh about a third as much. Considering that the entire heli as delivered weighs just an ounce ... well, it will surely cut down on flying time. I am continuing to test using these struts. On my heli, because I had to use some replacement screws, the orignal mounting holes will still hold the original struts. While Ilike much about the MIA Tuff struts, Ibelieve I will try to learn from how they are constructed in order to modify the orignal struts.

What I am noticing most about the MIATuff struts is that, however the heli is trimmed, they seem to magnify the effect. Just like a heavier weight at the end of a pendulum will do.

That is rough about the other repair issue you encountered.No ideas here other than totally disassembling and reasembling your main rotor mechanism.

46u

My Feedback: (3)

Only thing I have broken on mine was a rear rotor blade and the fin which I glue. Mine came with the latest version of the tail motor. I am guessing I have at least 20 flights on it.

46u

My Feedback: (3)

I am eating my words broke my landing skids last night. [] Did not break all the way one side broke off the battery mount. Is this where others are having the problem?

ct420

I blew my blade grips apart last night

All it did was to rip the screws that hold the grips together from the plastic. I was able to just screw it all back together, and it's working fine even though the screw holes are more or less stripped now. They still get just enough "bite" into the plastic to hold together...

It was a REALLY bad crash, though. I'm still impressed with how tough this little heli is!