FenceMagnet

My Feedback: (2)

I am about to re-maiden my repaired H9 73" 1/4 Scale Cap 232.... last time it flew, 4 years ago, I ripped out the landing gear and blocks when it ran off the end of the runway and encountered a gopher hole.... I repaired it with stronger block and TNT replacement gear..... I set it up with 2 1/4-20 nylon bolts into about 1" of threads in wood.... now I'm having second thoughts that the bolts might break more often than not.... the plane is a chubby 13.5 lbs, it's the first production run.... any thoughts????

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stomper

My Feedback: (20)

1/4-20 Nylon bolts should be fine.

3D Joy

Don't do that, the bolts will shear on the first occasion. At 13.5 lbs and only 2 bolts... I flew a Cap with 3 nylon bolts and it was weighting only 11 lbs. The bolts broke and the wheel pants made some scratches on the wings, the landing gear broke the back of the fuselage, the cowling was also damaged... I may say that it was a rather hard landing but since I switched to metal, I made some serious landings also and everything is fine now.

Put metal bolts and repair your plane if you do something you really should not .

joeb102072

My Feedback: (9)

Hmmmm Pros and Cons. Either replace the landing gear blocks which can be a handful at times depending on what is over the area, eg fuel tank servo tray etc. Or replace 2- 1/4 x 20 nylon bolts and possibly soem sheathing and covering on your wing. IMO I have always used the nylon I think its an eaiser fix on the wing covering but then again I have never hurt anything other than the landing gear bolts when I had mishaps with my planes.

Edwin

My Feedback: (2)

I use 4 1/4-20 nylon bolts on my big planes, 82" at ~14lbs. The only time the bolts break is when they need too, rarely. I've used 2 before on one plane and they broke too often. My landing gear is 2" wide at the fuse and holds just fine. The gear that broke often were 1 1/2" wide. The leverage from the gear made it easy to break. My Rascal 110 has 4 #8 nylon bolts. I plan on changing them to #10 later but they dont break that often either. One thing to consider, when I have broken a bolt from a hard landing, I just replace it and continue flying. Doesnt stop the flying at all. To get them out I heat a small slot blade screw driver with a match and jam it in the bolt. Let it cool, then unscrew it. I would use 4. You should be fine.
Edwin

joeb102072

My Feedback: (9)

Ditto, it doesnt for the most part ruin your flying day..

FenceMagnet

My Feedback: (2)

Unfortunately, the gear is only a bit over 1 1/4" wide, so 4 bolts are out, besides, the 2 are already drilled and in.... I'm starting to think maybe leave the two nylon bolts as is, spaced about 3.5", and put an aluminum 1/4-20 in the center.... ????

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famousdave

My Feedback: (61)

I have never been an advocate of nylon LG bolts. I in fact flew a friend's plane the other day (he didn't tell me the gear bolts were nylon) and when I did my trademark short landing the gear blew off. I did not hit hard at all. So a prop was trashed ($20) and the muffler was bent up.. ($40) along with my ego for thinking I muffed the landing . If the landing truly was pounded it would have been easier to repair the gear block. This was a 12 pound plane.

USELESS

I won't use them, but if someone does, it should never be on anything that weighs more than 7-8 pounds. The laws of physics are not in ones favor on heavier planes. I would not even consider it on a 13 pound bird.

DP

cwoodstx

My Feedback: (5)

I have used 4 nylon bolts (1/4" size) on my 17 lb WH Edges for 2 years without any problems. I had 2 occassions where they broke due to dead stick landings in rough grass and in both cases this prevented the landing gear plate from being ripped out. We have used nylon bolts on 27 lb planes as well. The trick seems to be the placement of the bolts. If you place them too far outboard then the normal flexing of the gear upon landing will cause them to snap. I have found that the pre-drilled holes are usually too far outboard so I drill new holes inside of those for the nylon bolts. I also drill and tap directly into the gear plate, reinforce the holes with CA, and just screw then in without nuts. Works great.