Outlander and Mars Lander legs

[tbzep]

I recently got started on the Outlander and Mars Lander again after putting them on the back burner for a while. The talk on another thread about stability led to the mention of free play in the lander legs. I've finally gotten to the point of assembling the legs and found that there's a heck of a lot of free play. A popsicle stick will easily slip in beside the legs.

Someone mentioned shimming the legs for flight to make sure they don't cock over and cause instability. I started thinking about adding permanent teflon strips on the insides of the leg housings. However, teflon is hard to glue for the very same reason it would be ideal to snug up against the legs and still let them move freely up and down. I don't know where to find 1/16" thick sheets of teflon anyway.

Hmmm. Maybe a couple slices of hardwood? I'd still have to leave a bit of a gap because the hardwood has some friction to it, especially against the painted leg. Probably not the best idea. Maybe a metal that won't corrode easily but could still be shaped fairly easily. Brass, maybe? Heck, I don't know.

Throw some ideas at me. Where could I find a little bit of teflon and how do I glue it? What are those furniture sliders made of? They would be too much trouble to try to cut thin smooth slices anyway. Teflon washers? Maybe I could find some great big ones. I'd still have to figure out a way to permanently glue them.

[barone]

I don't know if you can still get it or not....now that helps alot.....but I bought some Elmer's Slide-All with Teflon a few years back. It's a dry spray lubricant. I use it on drawers that don't slide too well anymore (that was before they started adding rollers to them. How old am I? :eek: ) I've even used it on door hinges. Can says "More slip than silicone or graphite - no oily stain". Lists paint as a surface that it can be used on.

Don
NAR 53455

[tbzep]

That might be a possibility after adding some thin pieces of ply to close the gap. The leg inside the housing has almost 1/8" of free play, so I'd need just some slicked up 1/16" sheets on each side of the leg.

[Bob H]

I can't seem to find the thread now but I did read about someone who used R/C Hinge Points intead of the "cheesy" plastic ball to keep the legs straight. I think that's what I will do when (if) I get around to building my second one. I broke a leg on mine at least 50% of the flights.

[marslndr]

You might try sheet styrene plastic. It can be glued with CA glue. I would avoid plastic cement due to the thin thickness needed. It can be found in many thicnesses in just about any hobby store. If you needed more a more slippery surface you could squirt some graphite powder in, but I think this would work without it.