Helicycle landing gear reinforcing kits for sale

StanFoster

Active Member
Joined
Nov 16, 2003
Messages
17,139
Location
Paxton, Il
Aircraft
Helicycle N360SF
Total Flight Time
1250
After several requests, I officially announced late this afternoon my offering reinforcing kits for the Helicycle landing gear. The orders are already coming in. So, I am telling all the ones that have placed their orders, that I will take as many orders that come in for a few weeks, then order all the cable and parts, prepare the kits and ship them all out the end of February. My kit saved me a balled up Helicycle and many thousands of dollars as that gear will not take a 40 mph runon landing in sod without collapsing. Please send $190.00 to Stan Foster 1680 East State Rt. 9. Paxton, I'll. 60957. Pictures by e-mail will be sent with each order. Thanks veryone for the interest. Stan
 
I posted some pictures here for those considering buying my kit. I have come up with a better way to attach the front of the cables to the frame. Originally I simply looped the cable around the frame with some protective plastic between....then swaged on a nicopress sleeve. It was all underneath and out of sight. But I took mine off this afternoon and drilled an angled hole just large enough for my cable to go through and have some plastic spriral wrap protecting the cable from fraying.

Now it is a cleaner installation.....and actually easier. The second picture is where I am pointing to the swaged nicopress sleeve that the cable tensioning barrels pull against.

I am suggesting doing it this way to my customers....so I thought I better at least have mine converted to the new method.

I love these cables.........totally gave me new freedoms to do runon landings.


Stan
 

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Stan, I will be sending you a check shortly.
 
David- Thanks. I will be taking orders for a few weeks, then order the parts and cable and have everyones shipped by the end of February. I would rather do one big batch than one at a time. They are very easy to install, and after my aggressive runon in sod, its a nice piece of mind knowing the gear can handle it. Stan
 
Stan,
Will you begin shipping these in..."about 2 weeks?" LOL:boink::boink:
 
Heath- Good one...ha. My "in about 2 weeks" is far different than others if I have the control over it.

I guarantee that everyones cable kit will have a February postmark on it. Now....it might take "2 weeks" for the post office to deliver......:D


Stan
 
Stan - Is the hole you drilled large enough to put the threaded end of the cable through or do you have to swage the end on after putting the cable through the hole? Mike
 
Mike- The stud connected to the barrel would take too large of hole, so I simply just swag on a nicopress sleeve on letting it pull against the outside of the frame. I wanted as small a hole as possible through the landing gear. I drilled a 5/32 hole at the angle of the cable, then drilled just the side towards the cable just large enough for my tiny spiral wrap to go around the cable so it doesnt get frayed.

You simply hook up the bottom tensioner...and have say 4 threads started on both the left and right hand threads. I then pull the cable through the hole....and take a felt tip marker and mark the cable exactly where it exits out the front. Then I disassemble the cable at the bottom.....and pull the cable out to where its comfortable to swage a nicopress sleeve on. The sleeve is swaged onto the cable....then I take my Dremel tool and neatly cut off any cable sticking out of the nicopress sleeve.

The barrel tensioner is hooked up and then tightened till the cables each have the same pitch.....not tight like a banjo....but just pre-loaded so they make a ringing thud noise when you strum them.

The cables provide a lot of force to keep the frame bows from folding forward during an aggessive runon landing. Their cross coupling also applies an inward force on the rear of the skids helping them keep from skidding.

My video shows a 40 mph .....200 foot runon landing in sod. I was not planning on testing these cables.....just like one doesnt want to test an airbag deployment. But....3 days later I desperately needed these cables....and in those 8-9 seconds of coming down with a flameout....the thought of just installing my cables was very much in my mind as I went for it.....and did a runon landing , instead of a flared landing where I did not have enough speed to have landed without crunching my helicopter.

I am tickled pink about my cables, and I love the modifcation I did to my own cables that I am offering to the ones that buy any kits.

Stan
 
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Great idea Stan.

Way to share the safety!!!!
 
My cable kit list is still growing. I am going to cut off the list on Feb 15th, place my order for the parts, then make up the kits, and have them all in the mail the end of this month. I have received most of the checks and will make up the ones that have paid. Thanks! Stan
 
Dang- these kits are popular! I picked up 2 more today. Last call for anyone wanting to get into my 1st production run. February 15th is the cutoff date. I need the checks for $190.00 sent to Stan Foster 1680 East State Route 9 Paxton, Illinois 60957. I will order all the material for the checks received and everyones kit will be mailed the last day of February. Thanks for the responses that exceeded my goal! Stan
 
Two more kits sold overnight. I guess it pays to keep announcing "last call". Maybe I should say.........prices going up 20% after the 15th. Ha
 
Here are some pictures I never have posted before. These are where my rear landing gear is nestled inside a U bracket coming off my longeron frame rail. The first picture is the right side. The second picture is the left side. Look closely and you can see where both are twisted slightly forward. These did not have any twist at all before my 40 mph runon landing. My cables stopped my landing gear from folding forward and completely balling up my Turbinator. I would still be rebuilding my Helicycle had I not had those cables on.

The very morning just hours before my flameout....I was on the phone talking to a very well known helicopter authority, and he basically told me I had a solution for a problem that didnt exist. I begged to differ with him and asked him what happens if I were to be climbing out on a max performance takeoff and had a flameout? He poo pooed my idea and just told me to stop the damn thing before I landed. Little did I know I would be experiencing just the above situation just a few hours later. By the way...I never did hear one comment from him about my cable kit saving my ship.

Stan

Stan
 

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