so, in the quest for less chance of tip over on landing and hopefully less legs in shot, I have built my own pole type landing gear.
This attaches to the screws normally used for the prop guards and uses common materials.
The attachment to the quad uses a 40 tooth Delrin gear. This is about 5mm thick, so acts as a stable base and spreads the load across the motor mount. I drilled a 5mm hole in the top and threaded this to M6. Two of the other holes were countersunk and enlarged slightly to take the screws into the quad. This ensure the screws do not penetrate too far, but are secure.
The legs themselves are made up from 8mm O/D GRP tube, bought from the local DIY store. This is drilled out to 5.5mm, so a length of M6 studding can be securely fixed using epoxy resin. It is very important to wear gloves when working with this stuff, as the fibres get into the skin and are painful for a day or 2.
The foot is just a project box foot, with a screw through into the bottom of the tube, again secured with epoxy. The whole leg is the covered in vinyl. This stops fibres being shed and also allows for different colours to be used for ID.
I kept the standard leg, but turned it through 90 degrees, so it runs across the back of the quad. This provides some protection to the gimbal and also gives a catching point should a hand catch be required.
The week point is no doubt the joint between the leg and the gear, so I am going to look at making something up a little tougher - probably with some support, but as it stands, the legs are quite robust and will withstand quite a heavy landing. I think if you used aluminium instead of GRP, this could be strong enough for continual removal, which might work for those with back pack etc.
This attaches to the screws normally used for the prop guards and uses common materials.
The attachment to the quad uses a 40 tooth Delrin gear. This is about 5mm thick, so acts as a stable base and spreads the load across the motor mount. I drilled a 5mm hole in the top and threaded this to M6. Two of the other holes were countersunk and enlarged slightly to take the screws into the quad. This ensure the screws do not penetrate too far, but are secure.
The legs themselves are made up from 8mm O/D GRP tube, bought from the local DIY store. This is drilled out to 5.5mm, so a length of M6 studding can be securely fixed using epoxy resin. It is very important to wear gloves when working with this stuff, as the fibres get into the skin and are painful for a day or 2.
The foot is just a project box foot, with a screw through into the bottom of the tube, again secured with epoxy. The whole leg is the covered in vinyl. This stops fibres being shed and also allows for different colours to be used for ID.
I kept the standard leg, but turned it through 90 degrees, so it runs across the back of the quad. This provides some protection to the gimbal and also gives a catching point should a hand catch be required.
The week point is no doubt the joint between the leg and the gear, so I am going to look at making something up a little tougher - probably with some support, but as it stands, the legs are quite robust and will withstand quite a heavy landing. I think if you used aluminium instead of GRP, this could be strong enough for continual removal, which might work for those with back pack etc.
