Any one know if 3/16" 6061-t6 aluminum is good enough for landing gear on the WH 260 at 22.5 lbs?

Thanks
Dale

3/8" thick?

That ought to be strong enough for a full scale Extra 260.

Really, that's a bit heavy, 3/16" is more like it.

TF

Sorry Tom

I did mean 3/16, forgot to put my head on today, will edit post. So 3/16 will be strong enough?

Thanks
Dale

It should be. The stock gear is about 3/16" but is not really good 6061-t6. If you can get certified stuff you will be in good shape.

TF

Thanks Tom!

Keep the goodies commin!
Dale

I just tried to make a set out of 3/16" 60-61. Ordered it, cut it out, cleaned it all up, and when I bent it in the brake, the bends had cracks on the outside radius. It went into the scrap pile.

6061 - t6 is the cheap run of the mill aluminum alloy with a neat sounding name. I'm a machinist and thats what my customers spec for cheap disposable parts. Check with "Metal Supermarkets" they are franchised around the country and usually have a good selection or look in the yellow pages and call a local aluminum supplier. Ask for the order desk and start asking questions about alloys, they'll help or get you to someone who can tell you what a good alloy is and then ask where to get what you want.

6061-T6 is an alloy that is specifically supposed to be easy to weld. It is not particularly strong. You probably tried to bend it too sharply.

I know there is a spec for each type of aluminum for bending. For example I know that 2025 can be bent no sharoer that 2x its thickness, or in other words any bend's radius must be at least 2 times the thickness of the metal. I do not know the spec for 6061 but it should be easy to determine.

TF

6061-T6 is good aluminum, but it is hard to bend because if is already tempered. To get a good bend in 6061, your bend radius should be a minumum of 2X the material thickness, 3X if you bend to 90 deg. Even then you will see stretch marks.

You can go to www.mcmaster.com to order aluminum if you do not have a local sullpier. 6061 is plenty for most rc planes.

6061-T6 is fine for landing gear. However you do need to have the radius as in the earlier posts. The other thing is it has a grain and you want to align the bends with the grain. I buy it in sheets that are 2 foot by 4 foot from Aircraft Spruce.