Landing Gear Repair Suggestions

[OverTheEdge]

Well.... It Had To Happen. I have the 28% Edge 540 v2 was flying and having a good time a few nights ago. (This is my first gasser, got it last October) Anyway.... I've been getting more and more comfortable with it every time I put it in the air. So I give it the gas on my roll out... break ground... and do something I've done many times as I'm sure many others here have done when they're in "show boating" mode... I roll inverted and was going to do a half an outside loop. Key word "was"! As soon as I got inverted my 3mm53toc quit (not a fault of the engine... it was discovered after the accident scene investigation that there was a problem with my fuel tank clunk... I'll spare the details). I had enough air speed to roll upright but not enough altitude to make it back to the landing strip. I managed to set it down into some pretty tall and thick weeds. Damage report: Broken prop, down tube on the muffler bent backwards and a small crack which I think I can find someone to weld for me and popped the main gear and aluminum angle pieces out of the bottom of the fuse. Besides of few scratches on the cowl I don't think I faired to bad for my first Giant Scale crash.
So.... Fellow Bunny Pilots.... before I start repair on my one and only gasser.... I thought I'd get some suggestions, ideas, opinions, pictures, etc.... from other "been there done that" pilots.
Also.... I've read and heard of people switching to 1/4 20 nylon bolts for mounting the main gear.... I'm not sure this is a good idea.... opinions please.

[SURREYRCAV8R]

does not sound like to tough of a repair, just go easy when gluing pieces back in as you do not want to add a ton of extra weight in epoxy. Using nylon 1/4 20 gear bolts has never been an idea I like becasue it makes it that much easier to tear the gear off the bottom of the plane, even on hard landings, which we all have once in a while. Stick with steel bolts. Often times you will find a repaired gear area to be much stronger than a stock one. I find with nylon bolts the gear comes off easier at impact and inevitably ends up puncturing a hole in the underside of the wing...just my 2 cents worth

[Extra nuts]

Hey 50 where have you been?

[ericb]

Maybe an edit is in order.

[OverTheEdge]

I would appreciate it if the Flying Giant moderators would eliminate the off topic B.S. on this thread.

Actually.... why don't you just delete this thread.... it's has been of zero help anyway.

Thanks surreyrcav8r for your input.

[Extra nuts]

Hey guys, DONT FREAK OUT. I didnt think i was inputing anything offending here. I was serious about alot of glue but started think of all the older guys in my club that always burn thier planes in a trash barrel after any kind of crash. Its such drama to them that it cracks me up just thinking about it. So i had a moment. OK. No harm done. Not starting a trend with it. It's not worth getting upset over OK. I was overplaying with the smiley face thingy's. Not like its anything new. Stupid sure. I was just trying to lighten the mood of sadness after a crash. I guess it one of those things. Please dont be a hater. Ok Im done now. Keep smilin.

[Extra nuts]

In responce to your landing gear it would help anyone reading this if you could post a picture or two. My thoughts are if you can basically replace the damaged area with a hard ply or somthing very similar to what came out or even just get creative and brace it up good and strong in your own way. As long as the area the gear bolts to is rigid and straight you shouldnt have any issues. If you can restructure the original pieces and put doublers on them that could also work. Then you could straighten out the metal braces and reuse them.

[ChrisHays]

thats gotta be a record for most deleted posts ever in a row

[Extra nuts]

Yah a record for tears over spilled milk as well. It wasnt even worth editing. You know, some of you need to lighten up. Anyone offended by what was edited is making a mountian out of a molehill. I thought my smiley face movie clip was funny. Sleepy ***. Mabey you need to regulate your regulators. If anything, i should be offended over thier aggresive fun ruining..

[SleepyC]

	Quote:
	Sleepy ***. Mabey you need to regulate your regulators.

Actually it was deleted because using 9,000,124,786 "smilies" in one post slows down the entire site.

[Extra nuts]

Ok, that makes sense and it wont happen again. I appreciate the HONESTY. That gotta be a record for smileys usage.

So back to the broken gear.
Can it be pieced back together or is it shreded? DONT GIVE UP "OVERTHETOP"

[reyn3545]

back to the original question... suggestions for repairs...

Muffler Downspout.... This will save you a ton of time and money. go to your local home improvement center and pick up a MAPP gas torch (looks like a handheld propane torch, but its yellow in color). Also, get some aluminum welding rods... All this should run you less than $30.

Take your muffler off the plane, make sure the area is clean and dry (wire brush it). Then light up the torch, heat up the muffler/downspout area, and before it reaches melting temperature, (aluminum it a little tricky about melting) melt some of the aluminum rod over the cracked area. This should take about a minute from start to finish, and its good as new.. plus you have a new tool for the next time you need it.

[OverTheEdge]

Actually as far as the muffler is concerned.... I'm gonna call a muffler shop in a nearby town and see if he can weld it for me. I was told by a friend that this guy should be able to weld it for just a few bucks.
As far as the rest of the repair.... I've fixed numerous other planes throughout the years but they've all been smaller glow planes and was just looking for suggestions concerning fixing this area on a larger heavier gasser. Guess I'm concerned about building it too strong to the point that if it breaks again it'll take half the fuse with it. What I've decided to do is just lay in a 1/8" ply doubler on the floor and sides after cleaning up the splintered areas. Then I'll make some new aluminum angles for the gear to replace the mangled ones from the crash.
As far as using the nylon bolts intead of metal for mounting the gear.... it seems that most pilots seem to be against using nylon. Think I'll stay with the stock metal bolts.
My only other issue is I don't have any Ultracoat True Red.... Guess I'll be buying a roll for a measly 12" x 8" piece.... Oh well.

[reyn3545]

Once you take the plunge and start glueing and bracing.. it usually goes back together pretty fast. Its really easier than the smaller planes because you have room to get a good piece of wood in somewhere if you need to (and your hands, too). Good luck.

[OverTheEdge]

My plane has it's legs back under it as of tonight! With the exception of some scratches/chips to the bottom side of the cowl, you can't tell there was any repair work done to the plane. I took my time on repairing the covering and it looks stock! [] I'm also pretty confident in my repair work to the gear.... basically I doubled the sides with 3/16 ply and double the floor area with 1/8 ply.... replaced the aluminum angle with new ones and mounted the gear. Sure nice to see it standing back up! Now I'm just hoping that the engine runs ok and I can get back to flying.
I think I'll run some fuel through it on the ground and taxi around for a little bit to make sure it runs ok.
Oh.... almost forgot.... I got the crack in my muffler welded up too. Hopefully it holds.