The landing gear

[wscott127]

Hello,
My Name is William, and I have discovered, the landing gear on my models does wonders for keeping the model from getting to banged up during the testing process but rebuilding the gear after every flight is getting tiresome. Any suggestions. The models that are going thru the trimming process are as follows: 24" Fairchild F46 designed by Dave Rice using magnets to hold on the wheels, 19" Nieuport 17 (died and good riddance) build a metal frame and used magnets until the metal cage ended up destroying the aircraft. 24" Mustang Midget, Glue, Glue and more gluing of the landing gear. Starting to build a 24" SE 5a to replace the Nieuport and will most likely use magnets to hold on the landing gear and rubber bands to hold the wings on. Would very much appreciate any suggestions and comments

[Crabby]

William a few years ago I had the same problem. I was building a Fok DVII, and predicted constant repair of the U/C.

My solution (?) was to make a elastic cord inside a tube "collapsible" scenario where any un-straightaway forces would cause the gear to fold up.

It sort of worked, but then a guy who I respected suggested to just build for the flight not the crash. So there's that.

I still wince whenever a plane lands hard and have to do some repair, but that's why we build stick and tissue fly em crash em fix em. Do not give up trying to save your U/C, I look forward to seeing your efforts pay off.

[Spiros]

Please correct me if I did not understand the issue.

However, concerning U/C, I use UHU Por which creates a strong bond with the fuselage while keeping a slightly elastic property, which helps while landing on hard surfaces.

[dputt7]

  I have found that for undercarriages such as the SE5 bend up the 2 "v" legs and top cross bar in one piece. Mount the front legs solidly in the fuse and let the rear legs fit into slots in the fuse. When it lands the "v" legs will flex letting the rear legs move up into the slots absorbing the load. Size of wire will depend on size of model.

[Piecost]

Good advice from dputt7. My Aerographics Curtiss Jenny employed that method and did not sustain damage despite many crashes.

It is worth examining a number of plans on this website andmon Outerzone to see how others have solved the problem and what wire sizes they used.