Made to order Landing gear

[RC Storick]

I have decided to start a small landing gear and bellcrank business. So if your interested in custom Carbon fiber landing gear send me a private message. The landing gear for the first few will be made to your specs, the bellcranks will only be available in 4 inch until I find a need for a different size. I have some ideas for CF wing mounted LG as well.

As far as cost there is around 15-20 dollars in material in each one so I figure between 30.00 and 40.00 cost.

[RC Storick]

I have 2 molds almost ready to go. I just need to paint the 13 inch one. Here is a pic. I should have all the supplies by Tuesday and I can start laying them up.

[Paul Taylor]

Wish I was building a plane. I would get one. 

[RC Storick]

For the first few it will be custom specs. Someone can send me height and width and I will make a mold. Until I have many designs. For the first one only $40.00 is cheap seeing is it takes about 4-5 hours to make, paint and polish a mold.

[Avaiojet]

Robert,

Couldn't you make wheel fairings also?

[Dan McEntee]

For the first few it will be custom specs. Someone can send me height and width and I will make a mold. Until I have many designs. For the first one only $40.00 is cheap seeing is it takes about 4-5 hours to make, paint and polish a mold.

   What are the specs for the molds that you made? I guess it would be difficult to make a "one size fits all", but should be possible to get in the ball park for most designs?. The mounting width should be pretty consistent, and maybe even tread width. Overall height would be the big variable. That is one advantage of metal (aluminum) in that you can bend and tweak it a bit to compensate if necessary.  I got a model here for Sean that will need fuse mounted gear, and I'll measure that up.
   Type at you later,
     Dan McEntee

[wwwarbird]

Wish I was building a plane. I would get one. 

 And you're not building because??? 

[RC Storick]

Well today I laid up the first one. Tomorrow I will post results. Looks good so far.

[Paul Taylor]

And you're not building because??? 

I have no more room in the hangar.
And
 

[Dan McEntee]

I have no more room in the hangar.
And
 

    Well hell  son! As old General Patton would say, "That's about enough of that defeatists crap!" You just got to learn how to rack 'em and stack 'em! In all reality, I wish I was building something also, but I'll blame my goofy job and goofy work hours. If I ever get back to a narmal life, I PROMISE you ther will be a glue shortage!
    Good luck with the experiements Sparky. I'll be watching  for the results.
    Now back to a PITA press drive line!
     Dan McEntee

[Sean McEntee]

Dad I have the best excuse on the planet to not build but I'm "gettin' 'er done"! See the "anything can be a drone post...

[RC Storick]

First gear a success. However I did have to refinish my molds. Seems the dope had not cured so I just applied Zpoxy and buffed it smooth for the second set.

[RC Storick]

I have quite a few done now and I will be making more every day. However I lost my .40 size gear mold yesterday. I am in the progress of making a new one and a mold for profile gear. If your interested send me a PM before I add them to the hobby shop.

I am also working on a bellcrank and spinner parts. I will not be making Props but I am going to do a bunch of other stuff.  These gear are strong.

I managed to save the .40 mold after thinking a bit. The .60 mold is seasoned and I should have no issue with it. If you look back I have painted the molds with dope. Not a good move. I later refinished them with Zpoxy. However on the .40 mold I didn't get all the paint off. I was using PVA mold release on it and it pulled the paint off. Hairspray works much better than PVA. I should have it up and ready by tomorrow morning so I can lay a few .40 gear up tomorrow.

I will also add this is the way they have been done for a while but that's going to change. George Spar is sending me some new material for a different look and more strength. (Of coarse I don't know how they could be stronger)

[David Hoover]

What are the basic dimensions - distance across the legs, bottom of legs to top of mounting surface, width of mounting surface....?  Also, what do they weigh?

[RC Storick]

What are the basic dimensions - distance across the legs, bottom of legs to top of mounting surface, width of mounting surface....?  Also, what do they weigh?

The .60 gear  weigh 1.4 ounces and the width is 13 x 4.75 high. the mounting surface is 1.5 wide. The are the basic dimensions as all the other CF gear. The .40 gear weigh 1.0 and are 4.75 high and 11.5 wide with a 1 inch mounting area. I do have some lighter with less tow in them. I think they way they are now with 25 foot of 50K CF in the .60 gear is right and 20 foot in the .40 gear. Width at the fuse for the 60 is 3 and 2.5 for the 40 gear

[wwwarbird]

The .60 gear  weigh 1.4 ounces and the width is 13 x 4.75 high. the mounting surface is 1.5 wide. The are the basic dimensions as all the other CF gear. The .40 gear weigh 1.0 and are 4.75 high and 11.5 wide with a 1 inch mounting area. I do have some lighter with less tow in them. I think they way they are now with 25 foot of 50K CF in the .60 gear is right and 20 foot in the .40 gear. Width at the fuse for the 60 is 3 and 2.5 for the 40 gear

 Looks pretty nice. How wide is the flat mounting surface (left to right) before the downward leg radius begins?

[RC Storick]

Looks pretty nice. How wide is the flat mounting surface (left to right) before the downward leg radius begins?

Width at the fuse for the 60 is 3 and 2.5 for the 40 gear

[wwwarbird]

 Thanks!

[john e. holliday]

I would be interested in  a profile set.   From the old DOC.

[55chevr]

RS - I am interested in the profile gear.  Did you decide on dimension yet?


 

[RC Storick]

Im working on mold now and I will post pics and numbers later

[Derek Barry]

Those are pretty darn impressive Sparky. I assume you will be bringing a few of them with you to the Nats?

Derek

[RC Storick]

I will be bringing some . Here is the pic of the profile mold.

I modeled it after a existing aluminum profile gear so it should be fine.

Mine will have more material for you to trim so you can adjust the height as needed.

[RC Storick]

Watching with interest on how you will handle the opposite bend of the profile gear. Are you making a two piece mold?

MM

Nope look at the plug. I use parting cloth as the top mold. As with anything you get better as you do more. I have found that if I leave the parting cloth on until its dry and rip it off in one stroke it leaves a better finish. Also learned the hairspray is a better parting agent than PVA.

The gear price is 30.00 + shipping send PM if you want a set

[Lauri Malila]

Looks nice, Robert.
Is it all-carbon rowing or does it have any carbon cloth in it? Some wowen stuff is good in center & tips to prevent cracking.
Or why not whole surface in +/-45 degrees? Besides it looks cool, it would also make them more torsion-stiff.

Lauri

[RC Storick]

Looks nice, Robert.
Is it all-carbon rowing or does it have any carbon cloth in it? Some wowen stuff is good in center & tips to prevent cracking.
Or why not whole surface in +/-45 degrees? Besides it looks cool, it would also make them more torsion-stiff.

Lauri

This is the way  most of them are done. It also has a rib on the underside to make it stronger. Once the resin dries it becomes all one piece of carbon.

[wwwarbird]

 My nitpicky self is happy to see that you used the Sig gear as the mold design for the profile gear. It's the best appearing aluminum profile gear IMO. It's also quite universal, I've used the Sig Fazer gear on a lot of models, the size works very well for almost anything from a 40-42" model up to .60 size stuff...

[RC Storick]

These are made EXACTLY like Windy made them. By the way they look ,just like they are all made.

[Dan McEntee]

    How long does it take for them to set up and be able to remove them from the mold? What kind of epoxy, anything special? How do you get the slick,shiney surfaces? Just curious. I was expecting to see a two piece mold set up for some reason. Bring the molds to Buder with you some time. I've always been interested in that kind of stuff but no time to experiment with it, and I'm interested in seeing what the molds look like. This ain't something you get a chance to see everyday.
   Type atyou later,
    Dan McEntee

[RC Storick]

   How long does it take for them to set up and be able to remove them from the mold? What kind of epoxy, anything special? How do you get the slick,shiney surfaces? Just curious. I was expecting to see a two piece mold set up for some reason. Bring the molds to Buder with you some time. I've always been interested in that kind of stuff but no time to experiment with it, and I'm interested in seeing what the molds look like. This ain't something you get a chance to see everyday.
   Type atyou later,
    Dan McEntee

The molds look like this.

I am using EZ Lam resin and it has a 60 minute work time and 24 hr dry time. Post cure at 200 for two hours. Its a structural resin not like soft epoxy. I am using 50K CF and when its cured it feel like one piece of carbon.

The shine depends on how long you wait to remove the parting cloth. (the blue stuff on this mold)To flatten it out I use a Bondo spreader. I have made 10 sets now and each one is better. I will need to wait until I get my next order of Tow to make more. So I will be working on my lost foam beam wing plane again.

[RC Storick]

You have to use several polished coats of carnauba wax with PVA. If hairspray is working, more power to ya'. I know a guy that uses a bar of soap. If all the strands are going the same way it will be prone to cracking on the ends where the holes are but, probably won't happen with the forces involved. You could lay a few cross fibers in the middle of the mix at the tips or a piece of medium light fiber glass cloth with the threads on the bias. If I bought these I would epoxy aluminum bushings so the raw nut/bolt doesn't work the hole area but that's probably overkill. They look nice I'm tempted.

MM

P.S. $30? what happened to $20?

Quote from my first post"As far as cost there is around 15-20 dollars in material in each one so I figure between 30.00 and 40.00 cost."

[RC Storick]

Checking out that EZ Lam resin. Would you dare make a prop with it? Is it as hard as Epon 815?


MM

Epon for props EZ lam for gear. I would not make pipes either with it as it is not high heat. I am using the recommended resins for each specific job. Anyone can call ACP and get the low down. Anyone can do this you would just need the desire.

[Dan McEntee]

     I met Sparky at Buder Park today for a few flights and he had a sample of his new landing gear with him. Very nice pieces of work. I would think anyone would be satisfied with them for use on their model. I plan on getting a pair for one of Sean's models as soon as he gets caught up on some production.
    He got a flight on one of his new electric models, the Viper Electric, I think it was. The wind was whipping a bit through the trees and making some weird turbulence, but the initial flight looked pretty straight and level, with a good corner. Should be an easy airplane to final trim out.
    Type at you later,
      Dan McEntee

[RC Storick]

Made 2 more today and I did a test on the bell crank. I had a few voids in the bell crank so I ordered some chopped carbon and I will wait until my new molding supplies get here, I just wanted a weight and its 8 grams. I also had a few ideas how to make it better.

On the LG I was going to do a test of fiberglass and carbon to see how that works.

[Mark Scarborough]

I got a set of .60 sized gear from Robert, recieved them yesterday,,
I have never fondled a set of carbon gear prior to this, but from what I see these should be great for my needs
They were lighter than I expected, and plenty rigid,, now to finish my new plane so I can try them out,, I garauntee they will get a workout on my practice field,,
but so far, happy as a clam,, thanks Robert!!

[RC Storick]

Here is a picture of the first bell crank and my laser cut hinges. The bell crank had a few voids but it will be ok for pull testing after its post cured.

So next week I get my new molding system and I ordered some chopped carbon for any small voids.