belly landing without killing props ...

[Duddits4141]

Hellow there ,

Today I did my maiden flight with the FT bloody wonder . First attempt didn't go so well (4sec airtime) , and killed a prop .
Second attempt went well , but when I landed , I managed to kill a prop again .

How do you belly land a plane without killing a prop
If possible would like to fly without landing gear ...

Any hints would be great ...

 

[joshuabardwell]

Maybe it is because my planes are all pushers, but this has never been a problem for me. Just make sure the throttle is at idle when I land, and it seems to always sort itself out.

 

[bstanley72]

Are you using a prop saver?

 

[Duddits4141]

My first plane was a Easystar 2 , with plop-prop and is also a pusher . Never had any problem with props before .
With the bloody wonder it's not going as I hoped it would go , throttle was off , landing maybe a bit hard...

The prop saver seems a good idea to look in to .

So belly landing should normaly not be a problem then ?
I thought I was doing something wrong here ... Thanks for the reply's !

 

[FlyingMonkey]

Tall grass can help. Get the plane slow, almost to stall speed, and at the last minute pick the nose up and let it flop down. I've belly landed lots of planes and have been very fortunate with not breaking props.

 

[xuzme720]

A prop saver is almost a requirement if you plan on belly landing. Or tall grass like FM has pointed out, is also a viable option.

 

[mjmccarron]

You might try setting the brake on your ESC that way the prop won't be spinning when you land.

 

[RAM]

You might try setting the brake on your ESC that way the prop won't be spinning when you land.

I've heard this recommendation before. Sounds counterintuitive but it is supposed to be good at protecting the prop. According to what I read, it's not the forward impact but the rotation that breaks most props.

 

[mjmccarron]

I've heard this recommendation before. Sounds counterintuitive but it is supposed to be good at protecting the prop. According to what I read, it's not the forward impact but the rotation that breaks most props.

I don't run mine with brakes set and rarely break props. I also don't use prop savers. I believe that its a combination of rotation and impact that breaks the blades. I have found some props to be stronger and less prone to breaking from belly landing but the type of airplane and type of flying ultimately determines the type of prop used. Slow fly props don't hold up as well as the HK "APC Style" and so on. I guess it's just a matter of finding what works for you and your particular style.

 

[rcspaceflight]

I had a plane that I kept breaking props on when landing. I had to land perfectly, otherwise I would break the super cheap props I was using.

Go with a better prop. Carbon fiber is best for handling belly landing abuse.

 

[Winglet]

Most of my fleet are belly landers. I never brake props landing and I don't use prop savers. Now crashing straight in is another story all together.

 

[Winglet]

Most of my fleet are belly landers. I never break props on landing and I don't use a prop saver. Now crashing straight in is a whole different story.

 

[Duddits4141]

The props could be the problem . I just ordered spare ones , the cheapest ones online .
Going to do a few tests with those , if they still break with a prop saver , i am going to get more expensive ones .

Thx for the tips !

 

[mjmccarron]

It's kind of a catch 22 there. As a beginner you expect to break props so, spending the money for the higher quality ones is not always wise. On the other hand, the cheaper ones certainly do break easier. Most of the planes I currently fly are belly landers. I rarely break a prop unless it's because of a crash. I use the cheap Hobby King "APC Style" and find it a good compromise between efficiency and durability. Price is good too. I can make more mistakes per dollar with them. Yes, even after 36 years of flying RC I still occasionally crash. As I said before, I think it may be a matter of finding what works for you. Just remember, you're not alone. We all break props.

This is a bit off topic but, does anyone else notice that their glide performance is not as good with the brake on on the ESC? It seems to oppose what I thought I knew about aerodynamics and drag. A spinning prop creates more drag that a still one (I thought) yet I seem to have better control and longer glides with it spinning.

 

[Ace2317]

I fly a Bloody Wonder too. The problem with it is that when you go to land, as soon as the tail touches, it pushes the nose down rather than kinda laying down and pushes the prop in. I've had this problem too. I added a simple flite test landing gear, which doesn't work wonderfully but it keeps the propeller off the ground.

 

[Craftydan]

I fly a Bloody Wonder too. The problem with it is that when you go to land, as soon as the tail touches, it pushes the nose down rather than kinda laying down and pushes the prop in. I've had this problem too. I added a simple flite test landing gear, which doesn't work wonderfully but it keeps the propeller off the ground.

Or you can cut the botom half off the rear fins . . . wont do a VTO anymore, but flies just fine and the visual lines are a bit sleeker

 

[tjmartin]

For the Bloody Wonder I added front landing gear. This works for me but was a pain to take off and put back on during battery change. I know mount the battery on the outside of that plane. Without the gear I would say come in as slow as you can (nice slow glide) and at the end before touchdown just pull back on your stick to flare it up.