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Troy Built Models (TBM)
Modellbau USA
Air-C-Race Racing Jets ARFs
Laser Design Services (LDS)
Ever Soaring Models (ESM) Warbirds
ECOMRC Civilian Planes
Goldwing RC Aerobatic Planes
ARF Model Manufactory Aerobatic Planes
Aeroworks Aerobatic Planes
Pilot-RC (PRC) Aerobatic Planes
Carbon Fiber (CF) Landing Gear
*NEW!! TBM CF gear for planes from the smallest electric up to the largest gas below! These gear are universal! This will help us keep all the items in stock because instead of having 100 different gear, we only need 25 different gear.
Please check your airplane's dimensions and then see how they compare to the dimensions listed below. The most important dimension is the distance "A" which is across the fuselage. This distance is easily changed on any gear listed below by simply cutting the gear into two pieces and bolting them on separately, or simply by choosing a 2 piece gear. Be sure to choose one for the correct engine size so that it can support the weight.
NOTE: All landing gear require axles which are not included. Some gear have a 5/16" hole to accept 3/16" axle sets from MPI and others. We sell the correct steel axles on the Axles and Wheelcollars page
***A is the width of the gear across the fuselage, B is the height from the top of the gear to the center of the axle, C is the width of the gear at the axles, D is the width at the top of the gear from front to back. Its possible that even if the gear you need is not listed, that an existing gear may fit, therefore we offer the dimensions.
**The first weight is that of the CF gear, the second weight is that of the stock aluminum gear. The weight of CF gear can vary 0.2 oz or so due to manufacturing tolerances. If the weight of the aluminum gear is not listed, and you know the weight, please forward that info to us. Thanks!
Warning: CF is some nasty stuff!! While you drill, cut or sand CF parts to fit your application take precautions to avoid breathing the CF dust and to avoid getting CF splinters. Your body does not naturally repel CF, your body will make some inflammation tissue around it and the CF splinter will stay underneath your skin or in your lungs. Use a vacuum cleaner and a dust mask when machining or drilling the gear.
PERFORMANCE OF CF GEAR: While CF is beautiful and light it is not designed to be indestructible. If you land too hard it will break. Gear typically break in two ways: 1) a hard landing will break (or delaminate) the gear at the top bend(s) because the CF is flexed past its point of failure. This can happen on the first landing or on the 1,000th landing. We have not seen flex fatigue where delamination occurs after many cycles, it only breaks when its fluxural strength is exceeded. 2) turning sharply on the ground when the aircraft is moving fast will try to fold the outer leg under the airplane and this snaps the leg off about halfway between the tire and the fuselage. The gear must be treated with respect. It is not 1/4" thick aluminum! It can't be treated like 1/4" heat treated steel! It is typically a little stronger than 3/16" aluminum on a 28 pound plane. If you would bend the aluminum during a hard landing you will break the CF gear.
If the gear was made strong enough to resist any type of crash landing, then it would be very heavy. This gear is designed to fly not to crash. If you land hard a lot, buy an aluminum landing gear, if you want the lightest weight gear which will do the job, get the CF gear.
WARRANTY: There is no warranty on any manufacturer's CF gear. For questions regarding Graph Tech gear, contact them at ohiocarbon@aol.com
HOME REPAIR: Most failures are due to a slight delamination of the layers at the top of the gear due to a little bit too hard of a landing or a tire falling into a mole hole at the field. These can be repaired by you in just a few minutes! You don't even need to remove the gear from the airplane. The gear can have no visibly broken fibers or bulges. If the delaminations open under load and then close right up again when the load is removed and are virtually invisible, then this can be fixed. If it is any worse and fibers are broken, just throw it away, or keep the good half and maybe next time you'll break the other half and you can marry them together. :)) TO REPAIR: 1) clean the gear with alcohol 2) stand the airplane on its spinner 3) put masking tape on the bottom edge of the gear so when you pour glue in from the top that it doesn't run onto the floor. 4) flex open the joint and pour in 30 minute epoxy. 4) close the joint and hold it shut. Wait at least 24 hours for the epoxy to cure. I found that CA is more brittle and will break again more easily because it won't flex like epoxy in normal operation. This typically fixes the gear virtually as good as new, and lasts until your next landing that's harder than normal
WARNING - Gasoline and Turbine powered R/C model aircraft are not manufactured to withstand unlimited G's. Any R/C model aircraft can fail, be it a wing folding up or a fuselage breaking in half under too high of a load. Just as any full size aircraft, model R/C aircraft have a maximum G rating. Because you are not in the plane flying it and experiencing the G's and reading the G-meter, it is more difficult to judge the G's on the aircraft, and it is very easy to exceed the limits of the aircraft. Understand that if you perform a snap roll, parachute, wall, blender, knife edge loop, or pull hard on the elevator at almost any speed, you can be putting in excess of 15 G's, even in excess of 30 G's, and most aircraft can only designed to take 10-12 G's. If you perform any violent maneuver, you can break your plane. When I perform hard maneuvers, especially for the first time on an airframe, I am prepared for a failure and am prepared for it as best I can be. This mainly includes performing the maneuver far enough away from spectators that in event of a failure that I am not endangering others. In addition, be prepared for the manufacturer to not pay for a new airframe which is broken during flight. It is common practice for any manufacturer to not replace an airframe which breaks in the air or upon landing. I have only seen manufacturers replace airframes when they have received many of the same failures and the manufacturer determines that there was a design or manufacturing error. If you break an airframe, and you are the only one to do so, then it is probably not the fault of the manufacturer. Please fly safely, and avoid full throttle operation other than at low airspeeds.
R/C model jets, warbirds, aerobatic planes and UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to name a few are not a toy! If misused, it can cause serious bodily harm and property damage. Fly only in open areas, and AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics) approved flying sites. Follow all manufacturer instructions included with your plane, radio, servo's, batteries and engine. Aircraft manufacturers guarantees each kit to be free from defects in both material and workmanship at the date of purchase. This warranty does not cover any component assembled by the customer. All parts of high stress must be inspected and reinforced if necessary by a competent builder. Some parts should be glued again. High stress areas such as firewalls, motor boxes, wing mounts, landing gear mounts, etc., are areas of high concern. Seek help if necessary. In not case shall TBM be liable for the cost of any product it offers which is not manufactured by TBM. The liability to the manufacturer cannot exceed the original cost of the purchased item. Further, TBM reserves the right to change or modify this warranty without notice. In that TBM has no control over the final assembly or materials used for final assembly, no liability shall be assumed nor accepted for any damage resulting from the use by the user of the final user-assembled product. By the act of using the user assembled product, the user accepts all resulting liability. The kit manufacturers have provided you with a top quality, thoroughly tested kit and instructions, but ultimately the quality and fly ability of your finished model depends on how you build it; therefore, we cannot in any way guarantee the performance of your completed model, and no representations are expressed or implied as to the performance or safety of your completed model. It is the user's responsibility to inspect each component for worthiness.
