Help with LG on Magnum
 

I just got me a Magnum complete with a 50 motor looks like a mvvs with a big tune pipe..... from UK Western models

I don't have a landing-strip of grass to land the plane, the flying field it tarred as most jet's need the tar for both take off's and landings, but would hate to belly land my magnum on the tar.

The recommended prop size is 8x8 so I don't need long gear, but also got lots of warnings about making it a tail-dragger, cg being in the middle of the plane, it tends to nose over. Did anyone ever made a magnum tail-dragger successfully

Help with LG on Magnum
 

Just curious... Why by a plane built for belly-landing when you have no where to land it?

The Magnum will have no problem taking the extra weight of the landing gear (Mine weights in at 2,8 kilos with the smokefluid, smokepump, etc..), but if the engine stops i suspect you'll have big problems with the extra drag caused by the LG...

The Magnum is a lot of things, but it is certainly not a glider..


I would suggest using some form of plastic skids under wingtips and fuselage, rather than installing LG on it.

Help with LG on Magnum
 

a gliding ( loose term ) Magnum and UC doesn't match.
you cant have the whole place tramaced can you??? what about the grass on the other side of the runway.

Help with LG on Magnum
 

Hi SM, maybe you could fit small castors to the bottom of the wingtips and the rear/front of the fues, you know the type that are rollers (like on the bottom of a fridge but smaller) and would be quite discrete and aerodynamic......

I would think that in that part of the world the grass is only there when there is rain, you should invest in a sprinkler system and some topsoil so you can fly year round ;-)

I wouldn't go with the wheels. If you motor cuts you will make it tons harder to bring in controlled. Then again, I glue mine back together on a regular basis and they don't damage to badly when crashing ;-) (damn super custom motor)

Help with LG on Magnum
 

A landing gear shouldn't be a big problem for the Magnum. I understand why you bought a Magnum... It's a great looking prop plane!

I would stay with a flat aluminum main gear as opposed to the wire type. You can cut a lot of the weight out of the flat metal by making it a lot narrower than the heavy piece most come as. Then shape the gear into an airfoil shape. Round the front, Sharp at the rear. Then just put in place a 1/4" lite ply mount into the wing just behind the CG of the wing. I have done this on a number of planes similar to the Magnum so it becomes more of a sport plane.

For the nose gear, get a fiber motor mount for your engine that has the nose gear setup for a 90 degree turn on the motor and attach it in the normal manner. You can buy aluminum airfoil shaped material to slide over the strut before setting up the nose wheel. JB weld it in place for lower drag. I typically use 2.25" wheels on the mains and a 2" on the nose wheel.

You will still be passing every other prop plane on the field even with a landing gear if you have a strong engine. Plus you can shoot touch and goes with your Magnum. How many other Magnum pilots have done this... Actually I have seen a couple do it. Not pretty!

Blue Skyy

Help with LG on Magnum
 

Do it properly and i might accept it rather than put the poor thing out of its misery if i ever saw it :p
a quick photo shop play with some UC from a full size plane shows it could look good. with a fast 36 engine and retracts the Magnum could make a nice sport plane, tho I'm not sure how you'd do the nose wheel without moving the tank and then using a pump. Thick wire UC bent to look like F-16 Mains and painted white may also be acceptable :D tho any scaleish plane with the wheels down looks wrong :(