FT 3D XL without landing gear?

[mcmoyer]

Without landing gear does always fly better and isn’t necessary, but it adds a lot of fun. Practicing touch and goes and nailing a landing are both lots of fun. The Simple Scout is my favorite plane for that too.

How did you build your tail skid? I just do the triangular piece of foam and glue a skewer or chopstick to that. Don’t overhang the triangle much or the stick will break off easily. This is an area where it’s helpful to go heavy on the glue.

yeah, tail skid was just the triangular piece of foam from the vertical stab. I did exactly how it was shown in the video, with a little bit of overlap past the foam, and yep, it broke off right at the end of the foam on the first flight. Then for the next couple of flights the remaining skewer was working well. I made it with the maker foam and I think that delaminates easier than DTFB. By the 5th flight, foam under the skewer had crushed, skewer had detached, but the paper sides were mostly intact.

 

[Tench745]

4S was much better, but I think there's something wrong with my ESC or motor. The motor is rated for a 12x6 prop, like I'm currently using. But the motor doesn't seem to be spinning fast and it's coming down hot. Wish I had my wattmeter with me. I've calibrated the ESC a few times now, but nothing changes.

Edit: after doing some more research on my cheap motor, it looks like it's rated for a 12x6 on 2S. Anyone have a suggestion for a better motor? Available on Amazon would be nice, but not necessary

At higher elevations there's less air for the prop to push, so it's not really working as hard as a 12x6 would be at sea level. You can probably up your diameter an inch or two to make up the difference. Keep in mind less air probably means less cooling too, so test and verify.

 

[Foamforce]

yeah, tail skid was just the triangular piece of foam from the vertical stab. I did exactly how it was shown in the video, with a little bit of overlap past the foam, and yep, it broke off right at the end of the foam on the first flight. Then for the next couple of flights the remaining skewer was working well. I made it with the maker foam and I think that delaminates easier than DTFB. By the 5th flight, foam under the skewer had crushed, skewer had detached, but the paper sides were mostly intact.

MOAR GLU! 😀

Seriously, this is a place where more glue really helps. It eliminates the delamination and stiffens up the triangle. For the stick, try a disposable chopstick instead of the skewer. It would take an impressive ”landing” to snap that. You could also make the angle closer to parallel with then ground, which would further reduce stress.

 

[Foamforce]

Here’s the skid on my very beat up Storch. I learned to fly on this one and flew it in combat at Flitea fest. This skid has held up to a lot. I think the steep angle has helped a lot.

 

[Spitfire222]

Without landing gear does always fly better and isn’t necessary, but it adds a lot of fun. Practicing touch and goes and nailing a landing are both lots of fun. The Simple Scout is my favorite plane for that too.

I agree that takeoffs and landings are fun and good to practice, but I would argue that it's also situation dependent. Meaning, in this case, if the performance of the plane is suffering in part due to the gear, preventing it from fulfilling it's main purpose as a high-performance 3D model, then I'd say it's a good idea to go gear-less and save the TO's and landings for another plane where it's not optional (like fixed gear planes like the Cub, Storch, etc)

 

[Foamforce]

I agree that takeoffs and landings are fun and good to practice, but I would argue that it's also situation dependent. Meaning, in this case, if the performance of the plane is suffering in part due to the gear, preventing it from fulfilling it's main purpose as a high-performance 3D model, then I'd say it's a good idea to go gear-less and save the TO's and landings for another plane where it's not optional (like fixed gear planes like the Cub, Storch, etc)

Fair point!

 

[mcmoyer]

This weekend I took my FT 3D XL out to the club. There were a lot of people around because it was a big jet event. I flew my plane and marveled at how well it was tracking on knife edges. Right after me, a guy was flying a big gasser, at least a 6 ft wingspan and he was putting it through the paces. After he was done, he walked over to the table I was setting up on and started asking me about the plane, like how long it took to put together, where I got the plans, etc. After a bit I asked him if he would fly my plane so that I could see what it was capable of. Suffice it to say, I have a lot of room to grow with this plane. The pilot was impressed and got all the information about my plane. He's pretty sure he's going to build one himself so that he can do all those maneuvers that he's too afraid of trying with his more expensive planes. I know that feeling

BTW, I just ordered another of the orange motors from Amazon, but a 3536 750kv model. On 4S, I can hover now, but the hover slowly sinks at this altitude. I may try a 13x5 or 13x4 on his suggestion.

 

[Merv]

...BTW, I just ordered another of the orange motors from Amazon, but a 3536 750kv ...

That orange lineup also has 2 larger sizes, a 3542 & 3548.

https://a.aliexpress.com/_mKqpBfY

 

[Piotrsko]

I agree that takeoffs and landings are fun and good to practice, but I would argue that it's also situation dependent. Meaning, in this case, if the performance of the plane is suffering in part due to the gear, preventing it from fulfilling it's main purpose as a high-performance 3D model, then I'd say it's a good idea to go gear-less and save the TO's and landings for another plane where it's not optional (like fixed gear planes like the Cub, Storch, etc)

You can always catch it, but do make sure the motor is off. You also can do T&G less landing gear, just a bit more work and needs a smooth underside. Did it all the time sloping.

 

[mcmoyer]

This is a reason why I’m thinking 13“ prop may be more beneficial. Theres a good amount of thrust being blocked by the firewall.

 

[mcmoyer]

I was taking my vitamins today when I thought, “hmm, that might make a good skid”

That’s one of the things I love about FT planes. You’re never afraid to try a different idea.

 

[mcmoyer]

I recruited a pilot at my club, who's better than me at flying, to pilot my FT 3D XL. At the beginning of the flight, winds were around 8 mph, in the middle of the flight, they shot up to 15 mph. Final configuration is 4S 2200 mAh, 3536 750kv motor, 13x6 prop, and AR630 in AS3X mode

 

[dondi]

I just finished up my build of the FT 3D XL, and like every other one of my flight test builds (it seems) the landing gear aren't sturdy enough with the wire I used. I was hoping the doubling up on the insulation support wires would be enough, but it's not. With the clearance this has, I'm wondering if this would be a good belly lander. Has anyone tried this plane without landing gear?

due to no runway and grass field, only uneven hard dirt land, i didnt put landing gear on my planes, tried once and it busted the fuselage. It flies better and looks good too without landing gear