FT Baby Blender Kit - Landing Gear Problems

[DrBones]

I got the Blender kit..and it is a wonderful airplane and a pleasure to put together...yet, today when I dry tested it with everything put together, here's what I got on the landing gear (wire was supplied in the kit):


I've got the lazertoyz.com 'The Beef' motor with a 2200MAh battery.

Assuming that the wire that came with the kit is correct...what did I do wrong? I tried tightening the bends, but no luck..still does it.

Any suggestions are welcome!

 

[xuzme720]

Less helium, maybe? Sorry, couldn't resist with the pics being upside down and all...

You might have gotten the wrong size wire by mistake. Do you have any way to measure it to compare with what you are supposed to have?

 

[Bob_Curtains]

Definitely looks like the wrong wire. Email Dan at Lazertoyz and he will take care of you. They are very friendly but human mistakes happen. By the way, great looking Baby Blender. Love the color scheme, looks like the Red Barron. Very nice.

 

[xuzme720]

They look far too small, more like linkage wire size than landing gear wire...
If you need to get airborne and don't want to wait on replacement wire, coathanger wire should substitute nicely.

 

[DDSFlyer]

Such a sad little baby you have there...

 

[DrBones]

I guess a thicker gauge wire it is! Trip to the hobby shop - just hope they have it on hand. I don't want to use coat hanger wire..just to soft. I got the kit from flitetest actually - must really have been a mixup, which happens. I just thought I was doing something wrong - as in bending the angles off, or something to that matter.

Thanks for the advice!

 

[Mikiebebad]

I just finished my baby blender scratch build. I had some wire from another project which I thought would work for the landing gear but I have almost the same result. I'm going to try the coat hanger route. I believe it should be stiff enough.

 

[xuzme720]

If you have the means, heating the coat-hanger to red hot, then quenching, will harden the wire if it is not strong enough to begin with. It really should be strong enough without heat treating as long as the plane is a reasonable weight.

 

[DrBones]

2mm wire did it! Maiden didn't go well though. I used lazertoyz.com "The Beef" setup w/the 9 x 6 prop. It severely torque rolls on take off..and I didn't counteract quickly enough...crash..and now back to repairs. I think I'll try it with a smaller 8x4 prop next time, see if I fair better!

 

[xuzme720]

Something that may help is to let it pick up speed before lifting off. More air flowing over the wings and tail will give you more control and can make all the difference. Certain planes are notorious for not liking to be hauled up too soon on takeoff and I suspect the short coupling on the BB might be adding one more plane to that list...