Tip for those hard landings

[Decky]

If like me you're fed up with damaging the landing gear with those hard landings while learning, try tying the skids together across the back and front using fishing line. It's virtually invisible and will prevent the skids doing the splits - the main cause of fracture.

[dam74]

As a result you send the shock/impact up through and into the frame work.

The idea of the skids being flexible is to absorb the shock not pass it on to another component. I'd rather spend money on buying new skids then replacing a frame.

[coptermanic]

Agree with Darryl. In any impact, the energy has to go somewhere. How about putting bigger skids on?

[Janek]

Cold winter temperature don't help, as it make the plastic brittle and more likely to snap.

But at the end of the day, that's what their there for.........learn to make softer landings

[Gate88]

Surely if you're landing that hard that you're regularly breaking skids you must be damaging booms, blades, feathering shafts etc. Rather than working on ways to survive hard landindings I'd just work on softer landings if I was you.

[Nick B]

Had metal skids once,hit the ground quite soft,skids,base plate,blades,mainshaft,feathering shaft ,boom and tail blades dead

Had the same accident before with my b400,no damage

[spunkmyer]

Thanks for the idea it all helps buddy. But as said above the skids are cheap to replace and easy compaired to the boom etc

[coptermanic]

........or put the T-G back on and work on your set-downs!!!!!!!!!!

[spunkmyer]

........or put the T-G back on and work on your set-downs!!!!!!!!!!

Well said buddy

[Decky]

Well it worked for me! I was referring to heavy landings not crashes.

[EtheAv8r]

One option to actually help not break plastic skid legs so often and still retain their energy absorption is to put a rubber band on them front and rear....

[trillian]

For smaller helis, like 450s, you have to set them down really hard to break skids. I have had a few very abrupt landings with my 450 due to wind and sudden power losses and never damaged the skids. But if you really want them they do make nearly indestructible skids for 450s.

What I'd like for big helis is a set of skids that are very very tough but also have just a bit of shock absorbing function. So they would absorb a bit of impact but never flex so much that the tail touches the ground.

I am having to get a new set of skids for one of the gassers because I snapped a strut starting it (it's a pull-start and you must brace the heli when pulling the cord which puts a lot more strain on the skids).

[glyn]

One option to actually help not break plastic skid legs so often and still retain their energy absorption is to put a rubber band on them front and rear....

Hi guys, this is what i did when learning and it saved my l/gear a few times but after a dozen times of landing found out they were no longer needed but left them on for a lot longer anyway .............G

[dam74]

As I think everyone has said. If you come down that hard and that often you might aswell put the TG back on. I'm still learning and have had a few what I'd call hard landings where I've brought the tail vert stab into the ground resulting in tail rotor strike. However I've never snapped landings skids, if you did that the whole tail drive would need replacing??

[EtheAv8r]

As I think everyone has said. If you come down that hard and that often you might aswell put the TG back on. I'm still learning and have had a few what I'd call hard landings where I've brought the tail vert stab into the ground resulting in tail rotor strike. However I've never snapped landings skids, if you did that the whole tail drive would need replacing??

Well it does not have to be that often - every now and again you will have a firmer arrival than ideal, and in these cases the elastic band helps. I don't necessarily agree you should put the TG back on - in fact I think you should remove it as soon as you can because the heli feels completely different without the TG and that is what you need to get to grips with.

Sometimes you can break the LG without breaking anything else - I have done it with the TREX 250 and twice with the Innovator.