Titanium for LG? (Very Low BP Topic! ;-)

[Rudy Taube]

Hi Guys,

Has anyone out there used Titanium for their LG? .... Dean mentioned on the Elec. forum that it has been used for LG by some overseas DA pilots.

I need a "Stork like" long LG for my ECL large props (12", 13" dia.). I made up some long 5/32" MW LG to replace my short "wimpy" 1/8" MW LG. This has worked fine, but unfortunately it added almost 2 oz. to my SUPER LIGHT WEIGHT (now only 57 oz) E P-40. 

I asked this here because it is a "Target Rich Environment" for modelers who know about metals. I have used Titanium for push rods in some 35 lb planes but I have never tried to bend it. All I know is that it is strong, light, hard, and it cost a little more than MW.

I have the large KS bending tool that can easily bend 3/16" MW. Is this strong enough? Any hints on bending Titanium ?

Do you think that 1/8" Titanium is = to 5/32" MW in strength?

It seems to be cost effective. It is only $17 for 1/8" x 30"

Here is a link to buy Titanium:  (Thanks Dean :-)

http://www.smallparts.com/products/descriptions/tiw.cfm

Are there better links? ....... Info Links??   TIA

Regards, 

[Mark Scarborough]

Rudy, if I may add to this, points of interest for me as well. My 109 will have somewhat long gear legs as well. My concerns are about bending it, and what kind of bend radius is neccessary in order to minimize stress points. Rather than strenght, I think my concern is the relative rigidity of the material. ie 1/8 titanium being more or less rigid than 1/8 music wire or 5/32 music wire.
actually, I just wanted to post so I could tag this thread for email replies to make sure I didnt miss anything

[Ralph Wenzel (d)]

Hi Rudy,
I used Ti L/G, .090 thick, on some C/L Scale Racers (Goodyear) back in the '70s. Light, tough, unworkable and expensive. You know how most folks have to tweak the L/G to get a straight roll??? Well, with Ti gear, fuggedaboutit!! You can't build a wing (or fuselage) strong enough to allow tweaking, not and have a competitive-weight stunter!

Ralph

[Bill Little]

I *could* be wrong, but I believe the Yatsenko's planes have titanium LG that plug into sockets.  A set of plans I have show that.

[john e. holliday]

Too bad Glenn Lee doesn't fly stunt.  He is my source for Titanium gear for racing planes.  Yes I have had to warp the gear back into place when my pilots get a case of forgetfulness on landings.  Why not go with aluminum with lightening holes cut into it?  Anyway it sounds like you land like I do.  Too bad the judges could only judge the last one, not the first one.  MERRY CHRISTMAS, DOC Holliday

[Mike Palko]

Hi Rudy,
   This came up in one of my ebay searches. http://cgi.ebay.com/TITANIUM-LANDING-GEAR-Control-Line-RC-Model-Airplane_W0QQitemZ250197540558QQihZ015QQcategoryZ34056QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

That search was not for titanium or landing gear, so there may be others listed. It's not what your looking for, but it's an option.

Mike

[Garf]

I have a set of Titanium gear on my "Fronkensteen 1", mostly because I found some scrap in the metal shop I was working in. I just cut and bent it like it was stainless and had no problem, but then again, the equipment we had in that shop could have cut and bent anything. The strength of stainless, the weight of aluminum.

[Paul Smith]

When I lived in Wichita, we used go to "The Yard", a recycling station (formerly called a junk yard) of the aircraft industry.  There was plenty of good stuff from Boeing, Beech, Cessna, and The Air Force.  I've still got a good size chunk of Titianium that I can hardly cut or bend.  The trick was to find piece that was pretty near the final size so it doesn't take so much labor to fashion the part.

The stuff is tough to work with, hence the 'spensive goff clubs and the $28.50 landing gear on Ebay.

[Keith Spriggs]

If you ever happen to be in Wichita and you have some time, a trip to "The Yard" would be worth your time. Even if you don't buy anything (which you probably will) it has things that you are not likely to see anywhere else like blocks of aluminum 2 foot square and 8 foot long or 10 inch round bars 20 foot long. Tons of metal and hardware, even airplane upholstery.

[Paul Smith]

If you ever happen to be in Wichita and you have some time, a trip to "The Yard" would be worth your time. Even if you don't buy anything (which you probably will) it has things that you are not likely to see anywhere else like blocks of aluminum 2 foot square and 8 foot long or 10 inch round bars 20 foot long. Tons of metal and hardware, even airplane upholstery.

I got the idea that they bought bulk loads of airplane parts, machinery, etc, then took them apart down to the last nut & bolt, carefully sorting everything into labeled bins.

I wish I could find an auto industry equivalent.  Some of the obsolete tools we scrap out every year would yield a fortune in salvage parts.  Maybe our "yard" is in Red China.