Composite-ARF IMPACT
Landing Gear
Fit the landing gear bulkheads and main landing
gear legs now, and leave these in place to pro-
tect the bottom of the fuselage during the rest of
the assembly.
Assemble the landing gear support from the 3
pieces of 3mm carbon/ply composite supplied
as shown, and tack together with thin CA. Adjust
the length of the landing gear mounts so that the
bend is about 3- 4mm outside the ends of the
plate, if necessary. Hold the 2 carbon landing
gear legs in position and mark thru’ the 4 milled
holes in the carbon/ply part for drilling the holes
in the landing legs (3mm Ø). Fit the 4 x M3 blind
nuts to the bottom of the plate and glue in posi-
tion. Finally glue the 3 pieces together properly
with a little 30min. epoxy and microballoons,
with minimum radius fillets.
For good access to glue the landing gear sup-
port structure into the fuselage is easiest to open
up the large hole in the engine bay which will
accept your tuned pipe or muffler if you are
going to use a gas or glow engine, but for some
electric power installations this will need to be
closed later for correct cooling - and you can use
some thin balsa sheet or foam-board for this.
Cut out the 2 rectangular holes in the sides of
the fuselage for the legs. You can rely on the
marks in the fuselage for these positions.
Trial fit the landing gear support assembly in the
fuselage and sand if necessary to have nice fit -
it should not be too tight or it can deform the
fuselage easily. Prepare the inside surface of the
fuselage properly, wipe with alcohol, and glue in
position with slow epoxy and micro-balloons.
Bolt the landing gear in place with four M3 x 16
bolts during cure to make sure it cannot move.
Drill 4mm holes thru’ the bottom of each leg in
the moulded dimples, for the M4 x 40mm axle
bolts. It is easiest if you drill a 7mm Ø hole in the
outside of the wheelpant to fit the head of the M4
bolt, for access when fitting the wheels. Fit your
wheels (65mm/2.5” diameter) onto the axle
bolts, with a washer on the outside and a wheel
collar on the inside to retain the wheel, then an M4 nut against the inside of the wheelpant, then
the carbon gear leg, and finally another M4 washer and an M4 Locknut. Use a little Loctite on
the thread to prevent any embarrassing moments!
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