E-flite Deuces Wild 25e2 ARF
02-21-2010, 11:59 AM
#51
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Littleton, CO
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RE: E-flite Deuces Wild 25e2 ARF
Well, unfortunately i'm one of the more financially challenged DW owners who can't justify spending almost as much as the plane cost on retractible landing gear, so i'm using the stock fixed gear.
I'll say this........the stock gear is CRAP!!!!!!!! E-flite, in their infinite wisdom, decided to make the mounting plates out of thin, cheap plastic for a plane that weighs 10lbs............and THEN!, Only support those same cheap plastic mounting plates on 2 sides, instead of all 4 sides, thus, creating a huge amount of stress in the middle of the plates.
ANY sort of bounce, or less than silky smooth landing results in broken mounting plates. Mine have broken on both main gear. I repaired them with a laminated piece of Ply, but they broke again where the round piece that holds the gear wire meets the mounting plate.
Soooooo..........I fabricated my own mounts out of Aluminum, replicating the stock mount design. I've posted some pics if anyone's interested..........
I started by taking 2 pieces of cast round stock that I had at work, and drilled them down the center, tapped the hole, then threaded a steel bolt down the center with loctite. Then, I drilled down the center of the bolt the same diameter as the landing gear wire, drilled and tapped a hole in the side for a grub screw to secure the wire, then welded the assembly to a 1/8" Aluminum plate, cut to the size of the opening in the wing. The plates ended up being about 1/4" longer than stock, to allow the mounting screws to be farther from the edge of the wood.
One more thing I did was to change the angle to more closely match the wing Dihedral, as the stock mounts had the gear splayed outward instead of straight up and down.
I have mounted one side so far, and it works perfect.
Comments welcome, good or bad.........
I'll say this........the stock gear is CRAP!!!!!!!! E-flite, in their infinite wisdom, decided to make the mounting plates out of thin, cheap plastic for a plane that weighs 10lbs............and THEN!, Only support those same cheap plastic mounting plates on 2 sides, instead of all 4 sides, thus, creating a huge amount of stress in the middle of the plates.
ANY sort of bounce, or less than silky smooth landing results in broken mounting plates. Mine have broken on both main gear. I repaired them with a laminated piece of Ply, but they broke again where the round piece that holds the gear wire meets the mounting plate.
Soooooo..........I fabricated my own mounts out of Aluminum, replicating the stock mount design. I've posted some pics if anyone's interested..........
I started by taking 2 pieces of cast round stock that I had at work, and drilled them down the center, tapped the hole, then threaded a steel bolt down the center with loctite. Then, I drilled down the center of the bolt the same diameter as the landing gear wire, drilled and tapped a hole in the side for a grub screw to secure the wire, then welded the assembly to a 1/8" Aluminum plate, cut to the size of the opening in the wing. The plates ended up being about 1/4" longer than stock, to allow the mounting screws to be farther from the edge of the wood.
One more thing I did was to change the angle to more closely match the wing Dihedral, as the stock mounts had the gear splayed outward instead of straight up and down.
I have mounted one side so far, and it works perfect.
Comments welcome, good or bad.........
