Hey guys!

I bolted my landing gear with nylon bolts. The other day when I was breaking my engine in, I decided to taxi around a little and take it up one feet or two knowing that my plane was too nose heavy to fly. I was running rich at the time and took off at full throttle. Once I got 1-2 feet in the air I reduced the throttle to bring it down and I let go the down elevator and my plane just went down real hard. I only broke the nylon bolts holding the landing gear. Being this is a spad... should I use metal bolts? or should I stick to nylon, it really wasn't high from the ground and they broke, I'm new to this hobby and I predict my landings will be a little to very hard at first, I don't want to change the nylon bolts all the time. I guess people use nylon bolts so that the bolts break and not the fuselage right?!!? Should I be concerned by this if I have a PVC fuselage?

What do you guys think? oh yeah, before telling me to get an instructor, send me 150$ to join the club, another 50$ for the MAAC (Insurance) and a willing instructor to teach me when I want too and without waiting 3 weeks... I'll gladly take that route. That being said, I for one, really appreciate this forum, I see all of you as instructors, I've learn a lot since I've been reading posts here but I'll take my chances with my 30$ spad Once I learn the ropes and decide that I enjoy this hobby enough to spend 200$ for a club and insurance, I'll join one.

Take care!

Stick with the nylon bolts. If you had steel bolts, you may have torn out the bottom of the aircraft. I had basically the same thing happen with me a few weeks ago, but in my case, I was coming in for a landing in a brisk crosswind. I was about 2 or 3 feet over the ground and at the edge of the field when the wind all of a sudden died. The plane nosed over and I also took out the nylon bolts.. glad I did. I simply replaced them and off I went.

I won't say a thing about instructors and joining a club. Ok?

I second that! keep the nylon or you would have done far more damage than ;you did...

Nylon is good and cheap insurance to protect the fuselage. See if you can find cheap ones at Home Depot or Auto Zone. Don't they use those to hold on license plates on some cars? They broke because you probably had more forward speed than you will on normal landings and snagged gear on ground.

Stay with the nylon bolts for now. As you improve you can always move to steel if you prefer. If you have the room, you could always add one or two more if you want a little more strength

Ok I'm sold, I'll stay with the nylon bolts!!! Thanks guys!!

yeah go with nylon bolts. I don't on mine, but i have it set up, where it pulls out a piece of wood i have put there and that only. But then again if i do screw up a landing, i am gone for the day...

Did you get your balance issue worked out? I assume you saw my post in your other thread with some ideas?

-Scott

I will add some weigh in the tail... my rx and battery pack are already as far back as possible and I don't want to move the wings forward.

Once the set-up is done, I post some pics.