When I came across those twist/turn retracts (see post #6) I thought I should make provision for retracts, so the initial fixed gear was designed to fit the same space as the retracts.
I have since realised that there is nowhere for proper scale main gear to stow (4 wheels in line) without hacking out quite a lot of the fuselage, so fixed gear it will be on this model.
I used a bit of beech undercarriage block saved from another model, made up an undercarriage in 4mm piano wire (music wire in US), and added some 6mm pine to the sides of the carbon-reinforced plywood supports sticking out from the fuselage.
These bits assemble to fit the mountings of the retract units.
Fitted in place, screwed to the pine doublers.
There is a hole in the wing into which these slide.
The nosewheel on the Trident is offset to port, and retracts sideways.
Again, the mount plate was drawn to fit the retract unit, laser cut from liteply, and carbon plated on both sides.
I used a 2" wheel (scale would be 1.5") on an old nosewheel wire coil from an old crashed sport model.
Sturdy old wheel on 4mm wire nose-wheel coil, with tiller arm.
I took a couple of thicknesses of plywood, and a bit of steel top and bottom, drilled a 4mm hole and bolted them down to the ply/carbon mount plate glued into the front of the centre fuselage.
It might have been neater if designed that way from the beginning, but I was making it up as I went.
A steering servo was added, and a linkage, and now we have a steerable nosewheel sticking out through a hole in the glassed foam fuselage.
Crude, but seems to work
Maingear and nosewheel fixed. What's next?
It sits a little nose high. maybe I'll change to a 1.5" nosewheel if the grass is smooth enough, bey hey! It'll help take off, won't it?