King2 Super Skids Review
 

Ok first and for most I would like to thank Gary(GTX Slotcar) from super skids for sending me these to test. As soon as I opened the box you could tell how well they are made. Top notch forming and high quality plastic They look and feel great, Flexible but not to much so, and the angle of them makes them have just the right amount of flex to them.

One of the First things I noticed is they are a little wider then the stock gear and it makes them look and handle alot better I alway thought the stock gear was to narrow for the size of the heli.

Installation was a snap and the Superskids have plenty of holes already molded to fit perfect another nice touch was the 4 black screws and washers that came installed with them to match the black skids after all its the little things like this that make a good product a great one.

After Installing them I was pleased to find that the antenna tube, which was included, could be mounted on eather side of the skids and it was mounted near the top of them instead of the bottom like the stock ones are. Again making the heli look so much better

Again I Just cant go on enough about the build of these I found no flashing marks on them and the molding it as good as it gets. The aluminum skids have the Super Skids logo on them and the caps in them match perfect look like they are molded into the metal.

And of course the most important fact, How to they fly. Well the testing I have done so far I love them. I do not have a scale to weight them with but im guessing just a few grams at the most over stock. Im flying with a 3900kv esky and 25amp speed control 10t pinion at it seems alot more stable now. Just the right amount of weight in the right place really makes a difference. When landing they feel perfect not to hard and just enough give for a firm landing without any bounce.

I am attaching some photos of my install and how they look with both the Stock Canopy and my Trex Canopy I fly with now.

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

sweet. cant wait to put some in inventory

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

Im guessing they will be a hot item when you do. Im extreamly happy with them cant wait to get it out and get some real flying in with them. Hovering in my studio seemed so much more stable cant wait to see them in forward flight. Just from guessing I dont think they weigh much more then the stock ones may be mental but even if it is I like them.

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

Gary is at the TOP of the list when it comes to quality & customer service !!! (helped me get a set of skids in hand after i had them sent to my old address)..:eek:

i have a HBK2 just waiting for a set of these badboys....where do i sign up??

RE: King2 Super Skids Review
 

Pretty sure he said they will be available soon. Im sure he will chime in soon and let us all know when. And yes Gary and his products are top notch in my book.

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

After crash #2 decimated my stock skids, I fished the old SuperSkids V3 out of the bin and fixed the appropriate parts to the King. The rear strut sat about 1/8 - 1/4 in. lower than the front. I added a washer and a worn-out O-ring to each side and they sit properly now.

Judging from the pics and a couple PMs with Gary, looks like that won't be an issue with the new ones.

Do you know if these are exactly the same as 2 front struts from the FP/CP/Dragonfly set (minus the knighthead and stabs, of course), or are there other differences? I have another set of SSV3 on the way for the FP and I was wondering if I should get some King SS or just steal the front strut from the new set and give the FP 2 rear struts?

BTW, the King's new shoes shrugged off crash #3 as if to say, "Was that the best you could do?".

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

mike,,ushobbysupply.. isnt that the sames ones i bought from you? they look just like it.. or were you joking? they are the best skids ive evr had. i broke everything else on the heli but the skids. the boom is a sweet deal too.. jake

RE: King2 Super Skids Review
 

They do look very similar. Could be that they are selling these as skids only without the knightshead and all the other stuff. I know they have different holes in them to fit other helis. And like you said seem tought as nails.

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

Same material, same manufacturer, just re-engineered to fit the HBK2. Same quality (or better). Drooling now.

So in the end, slightly different but of the same HIGH quality!

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

I'm sorry it took me so long to reply here. We're trying to get 5 more products out (as some of you already know), and everybody is waiting on me to finish my stuff before they can finish theirs. I ask them to hurry up, and when they do, I end up holding them back [:o] They are a patient group to put up with me. And, I'm fussy, too. I imagine I'm not too much fun to have as a partner at new product time. Oh, before I forget, one of the new products is an extended battery tray for the HBK2.

Maybe this will help clear up some things.

The new landing gear (SuperSkids400) weigh 3 grams more than the stock HBK2 gear. For those of you who don't have a scale, if you rip a sheet of printer paper in half, that's about 3 grams.

3 grams isn't much, but in flight where a simple breeze can move your heli, putting it low and spreading it out will make flight more stable. Even if we were at the same weight, the CG would still be lower and wider. For a HBK2, it adds a few mm of ground clearance, too.

We don't stand still. Even within Rev.3 of SuperSkids, the formula for the landing gear has changed. Minor changes like this don't have new Rev. numbers. So, if you have relatively new SuperSkids, then it's the same formula that we're using in SuperSkids400. We don't use an off-the-shelf plastic resin. It's engineered and made specifically for us, for this application. Nobody else does this, either because it costs quite a bit more, or because their engineering just doesn't go that far.

shizack, I don't know why you needed to add washers. I wish I had an answer for you. Have you tried swapping the front landing gear to the rear?

It's true, Rev.3 landing gear has had the extra mounting holes since the early design stages more than a year ago. We designed it to fit 400 and 450 size helis, just didn't get around to marketing it for them until now. It was a total redesign of Rev. 1 and 2. It's easy to see this in the differences between the shapes of the landing gear.

I hope this info clears things up a little.
-----------------------------------------

For those who might be interested in our unique design and have nothing better to do, you can read on.

Until now, there really didn't seem to be much engineering involved with landing gear. It was pretty much "make it stiffer" or "make it thicker" or "to heck with the tail fin, make it shorter" and it should work. It just wasn't right. Even strong landing gear isn't really a bargain if all the impact forces are transmitted straight to your heli's frame. Which would you rather replace, landing gear ... or your frame?
So, love it or hate it, we came up with the "alligator legs" design with a built-in suspension that we could control with camber on the top bar. The suspension area doesn't change with or without camber (or crown). Light helis need no crown, and as the weight goes up, all you have to do is increase the crown. Well, up to a certain point; they aren't designed for large, nitro helis.
On a hard, flat landing, some landing gear will simply spread out, and you bottom out. With enough impact, ours will bottom out, too. Without shock absorbers, there's only so much you can do. In cases like this, I like to compare it to jumping out of a 2nd story window and landing on pavement (no suspension), a blanket on the pavement (some landing gear), or a mattress and box spring on the pavement (SuperSkids).
In reality, of course, crashes and hard landings are seldom flat. Almost always, the heli is at an angle and one skid hits first. And, even though SuperSkids are *almost* unbreakable, they'll never cause damage to the frame because they didn't break. Landing gear, like the stock ones on the HBK2, will transfer almost all the impact force directly to the frame in most hard landings and crashes. It's almost a straight shot to the frame, and making it even worse, the entire impact is focused on this point. The SuperSkids landing gear absorbs most of the shock itself and has no direct line path to the frame.

Thanks for reading.

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

From the tip of a ruler to the top of the rear strut (align skid-stoppers front and back) I measured 36-37mm. The front measured a hair over 39mm. Just enough to make the tail look "droopy"; not enough for concern, but it bugged my picture-straightening-anal-rententive brain.

As far as swapping struts, I considered that, but it would then make the nose a bit (albeit less) droopy. Nothing to worry about, though. I intend to match struts when the new ones get here (probably tomorrow) and then order the King set when it becomes available.

Will they be available in white?

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

I LOVE my Super-Skids! They are so durable and they look awesome. You get what you pay for....worth every penny.:D

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

They'll be available only in black for a while. I'd like to see us make them in white eventually because I know a lot of guys like to dye them differenet colors. To be honest, it'll depend on sales. I'll be right up front with everyone. When SuperSkids was introduced for the 300 size helis, we didn't have any competition at first, and what did come didn't really dent our sales much. For 400 size helis, which is the real market for SuperSkids400 (fitting the HBK2 was a bonus), we're the new guys and there are already landing gear available. We're breaking into a crowded market and we're depending on the reputation we earned in the 300 market to get people to try our new product. I think if people do try them, they'll like our quality and tell other people, but there are no guarantees. My presumption is that people (in this market) are tired of junk and willing to pay a couple bucks more for something that's a lot higher quality, but I could be entirely wrong.

Are there any artists here that are handy with paint? I'd like to have a camouflage Belt CP canopy and blades on top, and white, silver or light blue on the bottom. Just for flying around my house and garden. Maybe even try to mount modified airsoft on it. I can paint, but I'd never tried camo and I have no artistic talent.

RE: King2 Super Skid Review
 

....a Titanium replacement boom would be awesome for the HBK2....the stock gold boom just dosen't cut it anymore!!