I really appreciate your video! What a great service. I had five flights off of grass on my Viper and noticed the nose gear just starting to bend a bit. I installed the new gear today and everything works great on the bench. RC Castle shipped right away and it took less than two weeks to get the gear. Can’t wait to get her in the air again!
Thanks for posting this video! My only hang-up on buying this plane was seeing all of the complaints of the front gear. This looks like the perfect fix and I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on purchasing the plane and gear assembly!
Talk about a timely video. Went to fly my Viper this morning but one of the elevator servos was dead. So if I'm having to work on it, the l/g upgrade is a good one. I fly off a mat runway in the desert and a little bounce will cause it to come back down on the nose gear. I keep a Allen wrench in with my radio to straighten it a couple of times when I fly the Viper. This seems like a perfect solution. Once again, your video hit my needs on the head. Thanks
Wow - thanks for this video - I have just purchased my E-Flite viper and I am a Noob to EDF items - been in RC for many many years - I took your advice and ordered a set of the retracts and after burner - great value as you say - and the ordering process was really easy, will fit them during the assembly process of the New Viper once they arrive - shipping was to the UK and very reasonable .. once again thanks just Sub'd...
Thanks for taking the time to put this video together. VERY HELPFUL! I fought like hell after 5 years to avoid jets. My world revolved around warbirds and float planes. But ArrowsRC sucked me in to EDF’s with their pricing on the Marlin and the Viper. I bought two Marlins knowing I was going to crash, why fight it, have the backup in the basement. To my surprise, not only did I not crash, I didn’t have to trim out after takeoff. Landings of course weren’t the best and like the Eflite Viper I was noticing the bend in the front landing gear. It slowly started effecting takeoffs, so I just hand launched. Until your video I was trying to figure out how to beef up the front pigs tail, or should I just do away with the Marlin’s landing gear and do grass landings. I like your solution better. Buy a landing gear upgrade with springs or shock absorbers. Thanks again for the video and where to buy the upgrades.
Thank you for this video, I just bought a 70mm viper love the plane but hear the nightmares on the gear. Hasn’t been in the air yet glad I seen this I will install it before it goes up
Thanks Brandon, nice upgrade, just ordered them, but I did a mod that seems to be working well, I took off those hard rubber wheels and went with a flexible foam wheel, no more bounced landings....
I have FMS Viper, just about the same, the problem with the nose gear is firstly not properly tempered wire, secondly a flat is ground just at the point of greatest strain. Best to completely dismantle the nose gear to get to the c clip holding it in place, and put new proper piano wire and then the upgraded suspension. Many thanks for pointing toward the upgrade available, I was going to go with gear from Avanti, but will now try to get stuff from rc-castle
@@JustPlaneCrazy that's good, I'll do same as you then. Also just thought how difficult it is to make a new c-clip groove! Thank you very much for replying
Hey JPC, thank you for providing not only and excellent video, but an excellent upgrade to this beautiful Viper 70mm. I have this same Jet and it's coming next week and I've also purchased the Top-Design CNC Suspension Strut & Wheel Set For E-flite Viper 70mm EDF Jet. This is a no-brainer for sure!
@@JustPlaneCrazy Thanks. BTW, they arrived today so we're all good. I was wondering if these "slip-on" (0.74oz) wheel gear set upgrade could be also used on a E-flight Habu SS 70mm? I realize the gear is rooted but it would soften the landing. Just a thought.
@@JustPlaneCrazy It's a new day, in an unexpected way. I started to assemble my brand-new Viper 70mm late last evening. The stabilizer, rudder and fish the wires through neatly. So, first thing I did the next morning is go to work on the plane at my workbench, I carefully turned it over on the stand then the rudder and stabilizer smacked the end of my workbench and cracked the 5 fasteners attached to the plastic threads to the fuselage off. At the tail, the small plastic collar (with "copper" threaded inserts) is sheared off, not the 3mm machine screws. I have to take some blame, I probably over tightened and it's a rookie mistake. So, I suppose can either CA glue the entire tail assembly together (old school) or send a support request to HH and no telling how long that'll take. I think I'll just use some medium CA and be done with tail section. Then move onto the wing and be more cautious, and finally upgrade the landing gear set, starting with the mains.
Such a great presentation video. Many thanks for posting this. I have the E-flite Viper as my first jet (bought it in the USA) & flown the heck out of this great model. I cut it up a bit when the wind changed & aborted the take off into tree wires, but it hot glued back & continued to fly so well. Here in Australia the parts were very expensive (wing & fuse) plus not available so I ordered an FMS Super Viper (same) & swapped the 636 receiver. naturally flies the same. I also ordered the Avanti V3 & noticed the Oleo gear...HK had the Oleo gear cheap which looked like 1 each for US$9 so ordered two but on arrival they are a pair, so plenty to try x 4 . I then discovered your video so will try the Super viper changeover gear before the front bends. The spare one I will look at trying on the also weak from gear on the Aerocobra P-39. (Now there is a good video for your to show a mod.) Thanks once again.
Many thanks. With summer almost here & a beach nearby i have had some great flights. ua-cam.com/video/3snWFiFd8YY/v-deo.html Tonight, following your guide, i replaced the p-39 front nose strut that easily bends as with the viper. Now after re i nserting an Oleo strut all works great with no mods needed for retracting. Many thanks again.
this is a good mod and suspension struts are very nice, but could you not minimise the force on the stockgear aswell when you pre bend the stock struts slight to the back, right under the coil springs, 20°-25° should work, it turns the landing gear into a say poor mens version of a trailing link suspension. You might have to work on the wheel wells a little here too.I did the same thing on other planes and it worked very well.... just an idea, and thanks for sharing, cheers.
I NEEDED this video! 👏🏽🙌🏽 Thank you so much I'm currently deployed right now but will be home soon and the Viper is one of my favorite jets and I've been looking into upgrading the landing gear, this is great info Thank you Sir
... another nice upgrade is changing the original EDF to a FMS 70 mm EDF 3060/1900 kv motor. At Banggood around 45 bugs - about 7 ounces (~200 g) more thrust!
You can order a whole new nose retract and then cut it, order just the pigtail, fish the c clip out with the retract closed or separate the retract case and replace the pigtail. I have done all 3. Just buying a new nose retract is the easiest
Great Video thank you for sharing this with us. Will make the viper so much easier to land without the bounce and bending the landing gear. I ordered the set of new landing gear today from RC-Castle how long did it take to get your new set?
I like the idea of this setup, but I'm not crazy about the idea of going smaller on the wheel size. Would it be possible to use the stock wheels with these? I understand that I would have to cut into the wheel wells on the body a bit, but would the stock wheels fit onto the new retracts themselves with enough clearance?
That I am not sure. I think the nose fork would be a bigger issue. Honestly the plane has plenty of power and the wheels have been a non issue. There has to be probably 5000 of these units sold and next to no complaints about them. People have been very happy with them. Good luck with your choice
Thank you very much for this great video. I am upgrading right now before the maiden flight. Anyway I have a proposal for making it even better ;-) If you change the side of the spring for the mains then you can install it with the wheel pointing to the outside. This way it fits better into the body when the gear is up. In other words when the gear is up you can then see the wheels and the part of the gear which holds the wheel is lying inside on the body. There is enough space to install it like that. Best regards...
@@JustPlaneCrazy Hi, you fly it still with 2 springs at the front landing gear? Because it seems to be pretty hard then?!? The mains also have only one on each side. Did you try to use only one on the front gear? Does the 3mm shaft hold even after several flights? Best regards
I fly of grass as do my friends. We have had the upgrade for over 2 years now It’s really a non issue and it does really depend on what as with any edf what the grass field looks like.
Does this mod really let us forget about all the bending issues once experienced with the standard Wire strut ?? especially at the Nose wheel If thats the case I would give it a try. Thxs 4 your nice demo
They have two different options. The expense option u get it in about 4 days. The cheap option is about three weeks. It depends what u want and how bad u want it. But they have always been good to deal with
Very good video Brandon...one question...I haven't started the mod yet. Before I do, looking at the video a couple of times, I hear 20mm on the mains. Did I hear you say 30mm on the nose gear? Thanks...
From what I have found when you usually have a lack of turning in this plane it’s due to the front gear being bent. In that case nothing helps but replacing the retract pin. Also if you can check. The servo horn position. Linkage hole away from the servo and closer to the gear linkage will gains more throws. See if your locations can be moved. I never adjusted mine as I was ok with it. So I don’t remember if there are other holes
I go to the aft end of the recommendation in the book. I think that’s fine. Love this plane gear is just a problem. The 90mm Viper from Eflite is hands down the best edf I have flown. Period. Keep that in mind
Once they bend the first time they will always bend easier. It’s best to put them on before the factory gear bends. In your case straighten them out and then put the new stuff on.
I just tried to go through again and see it’s a PayPal only thing,,,no idea why they are that way not but not sure it would matter to me. PayPal is still secure
Good job on the video. I would really like to know the name and manufacturer of the thread lock you use and if it's easier to remove the set screws in comparison to the blue Loctite after it cures.
I love this plane but hate the gear as everyone else. I put the avante gear on it but it was too heavy and not having trailing links upfront it was having the same problem. So after hours of work I just sold it. I would buy another one with your upgrade however between the price increase and the price of the gear from Castle it really doesn't make sense. I just went ahead and get the avanti v3 for less then the viper bnf. Also I purchased a e-flite f16. Haven't flown it yet because I think it's going to have the same problem with the front gear.do you have any idea if the same upgrade from RC Castle will work in the f16. Thanks. Great video
The F-16 is much easier to land on the mains helping to prevent the bounce. I love my Viper, but when it comes to landing, the F-16 hands down is much easier.
Keep em coming, bud. I don't understand why these companies keep skimping on their landing gear! Side note: What is your favorite 1:7 scale (~60") plane stand?
@@JustPlaneCrazy Flaps tend to make a plane fly in a nose-down attitude. Some are worse than others. The Viper and the T-28 are two of the worst. To make matters worse, the Viper has a tendency to tip stall. It apparently doesn’t have enough washout in the wing. The 70mm F-16 is actually much easier to land and is very resistant to tip stalls. I think it’s a better first EDF than the Viper except that the shorter wings are harder to see and it tips over easily due to its narrow landing gear.
In the beginning of the video you pointed out the weak spot on the nose landing gear. I've flown E-flite pigtail landing gear ever since they made them. So I've had a lot of time to analyze the bounce in landings. Other planes without these landing gear also bounce. Doing the modification still doesn't seem to address the weak spot you pointed out. With nose landing gear... am I missing something, l'm not getting smart, but Eflite still makes this type of landing gear. So is there a real problem with them or is it skill? I mean they do engineers these planes. One piece of information I do not have is takeoffs & landings on grass, I thinks it's a bad idea to do this and I will only use asphalt or fabric to fly on. I've seen to many landing gear brake on grass or dirt.
This gear will really lengthen the time it takes to bend that front strut. It fixes bouncing landing from not flaring but preserves the weak pigtail. If the pigtail is bent before installing this there is a slight benefit. If the pigtail isn’t bent it helps a lot
The Viper comes every time ! Love flying the thing ,,its just plane fun no stress. ' '' GET IT PLANE .. AAHHH ! ''' this was my first EDF '' PERFECT FIRST EDF ..BTW ... And I also did some mods with retracts ,, when the FMS V3 AVANTI was released I stocked up boy !!!! a tiny bit of hogging out of wheel bays and WAAAA LAAAAA !!!! grea.t fit , great EDF , one can not go wrong with the E FLIGHT 70MM VIPER !! There will always be one in the hanger.A fun to learn mid size jet , to get some basics skillzzzzzZ going on ..
@@tructran8783 Yep 👌🏼‼️AGREEED 100% I have the v3 and I'm usually ripping the retracts clean out the fuse ..😆SO ,,, IM always stocking my shelves with extras whenever possible. OR whenever they come back in stock ‼️‼️ SEEMS ,, Im not the only one tearing the heck out of retracts. Get'em when ya can .. ya know
🔥🔥🔥 My first edf jet arrived yesterday (Viper 70mm) excited is an understatement. Thanks a mill for this review and instruction vid, have ordered the gears and burner kit (couldn't believe the price, it was rude not too) How have you found the gears since making this vid?
Your video shows the smaller wheel size but does not really reflect how much smaller. (too hard to see in the video). I bought these with high hopes but I can't decide if I should go from a 53.6 diameter tire to a 40mm. It's just too small for the 70mm Viper.
Chris, they are smaller but many of my friends have these and fly at a variety of fields with these and don’t have issues. In fairness not all fields are the same and as I said I get nothing from rc castle and they have probably sold thousands of these. Try around the wheels are fine
@@JustPlaneCrazy Okay, I just don't know if I can bring myself to cut off the larger tires. Maybe I'll try them out, just not sure yet. Once I make the first cut I'm committed and I don't want to have to purchase new stock gear if I don't like them. Too bad the upgrade can't support a larger tire. I'll revise my above comment. Thanks for the reply.
@@JustPlaneCrazy I decided not to make the upgrade. I like the bigger tire size on the original gear. If you know anyone that wants a set of the RC Castle gear and doesn’t want to wait 4 to 6 weeks for shipping let me know. I’ll sell the gear kit for 25 bucks plus shipping.
BRANDON!!! the gear upgrade is the best. ( we fly in a Narco runway) short, narrow and dirty hahaha😬😬😬😜😜, the afterburner is a head turner. 1000% thanks for the tips. Can you help me with: I have a 4000mah 80c in my viper. Is a very tight fit, keep loosing my canopy during flight. Any tips
There is room to shave the canopy on the bottom a bit. With the burner you need to slide the pack front and that’s why u have the issue. I run 3600 mah 40c packs and they are fine. That may be your best option.
So... just started this upgrade and the MLG do not retract all the way... they can't... the struts are too thick. I mean its almost all the way but the wire gear tucks all the way up firmly and since the MLG goes into like... stop because its bound up its kinda flappy... Not sure I'm very happy with this although I know the nose needs it... Edit: Maybe they changed the diameter of the MLG struts or something but they do not allow full retraction as is. I am going to have to take a file and knock off a few mm flat spot on the side that bumps up against the retract. Not a big deal but these are 100% not just a drop in like this video shows for the mains. Again, probably changed something...
Possibly but I couldn’t say one way or another. A lot of people have gone with this gear and no one else mentioned anything. Reach out to rc castle. They are typically very responsive.
@@JustPlaneCrazy tbth its not worth it, the nose wound up fitting great and the mains will work fine with just a little bit of material taken off. Who knows.
I love the Viper. Crashed one last year got another and painted in the Frecce Tricolori livery. Maiden flight on Saturday, was nervous and landed on grass (not having changed the wheels with rubber with ones with foam, landing on the runway the plane jumps like kangoroos). Result: Front landing gear bended. This video is very interesting will order a set of new landing gears at RC-Castle. This is the video of my flight ua-cam.com/video/txuShvzpn8I/v-deo.html
I guess if I use it incorrectly then I don’t know when it’s correct or incorrect. Eh... grammar, I will stick to planes.. literally 🤣😂🤪😃😜🤣thanks for watching and putting up with me
Understood. Ads are the only way we make a few bucks and I mean a few. We get pd nothing for time in to making this or the $1000,s spent in equipment to record it.
I really appreciate your video! What a great service. I had five flights off of grass on my Viper and noticed the nose gear just starting to bend a bit. I installed the new gear today and everything works great on the bench. RC Castle shipped right away and it took less than two weeks to get the gear. Can’t wait to get her in the air again!
You love it. That Viper of mine has to have almost 300 flights now
@@JustPlaneCrazy That’s very encouraging!
Love it, Just re-watched the VIPER unboxing video and they SWEAR up and down no upgrade ever needed
Thanks for the video. I just flew my Viper for the first time today. I've ordered the upgraded gear from RC-Castle.
Thanks for posting this video! My only hang-up on buying this plane was seeing all of the complaints of the front gear. This looks like the perfect fix and I think I'm ready to pull the trigger on purchasing the plane and gear assembly!
Great video, just what I was looking for. Just ordered, $27 and change plus $9.00 shipping. Thanks
Talk about a timely video. Went to fly my Viper this morning but one of the elevator servos was dead. So if I'm having to work on it, the l/g upgrade is a good one. I fly off a mat runway in the desert and a little bounce will cause it to come back down on the nose gear. I keep a Allen wrench in with my radio to straighten it a couple of times when I fly the Viper. This seems like a perfect solution. Once again, your video hit my needs on the head. Thanks
Viper should be delivered tomorrow and have ordered the gear. Thanks for the great video.
Thank for watching. Enjoy the viper. I do. Don’t forget to share share away and check out my Facebook pages insta and merch store
Brandon, I followed your directions for the LG upgrade while fitting a new fuselage for the Viper and it came out sweet. Thanks brahdah!
Super glad. Nice job. Enjoy
These are like 5 bucks now, just ordered. Much needed upgrade. Thanks for the video
Welcome thanks for watching
Wow - thanks for this video - I have just purchased my E-Flite viper and I am a Noob to EDF items - been in RC for many many years - I took your advice and ordered a set of the retracts and after burner - great value as you say - and the ordering process was really easy, will fit them during the assembly process of the New Viper once they arrive - shipping was to the UK and very reasonable .. once again thanks just Sub'd...
Thanks for taking the time to put this video together. VERY HELPFUL! I fought like hell after 5 years to avoid jets. My world revolved around warbirds and float planes. But ArrowsRC sucked me in to EDF’s with their pricing on the Marlin and the Viper. I bought two Marlins knowing I was going to crash, why fight it, have the backup in the basement. To my surprise, not only did I not crash, I didn’t have to trim out after takeoff. Landings of course weren’t the best and like the Eflite Viper I was noticing the bend in the front landing gear. It slowly started effecting takeoffs, so I just hand launched. Until your video I was trying to figure out how to beef up the front pigs tail, or should I just do away with the Marlin’s landing gear and do grass landings. I like your solution better. Buy a landing gear upgrade with springs or shock absorbers.
Thanks again for the video and where to buy the upgrades.
Thanks for watching!
Thank you for this video, I just bought a 70mm viper love the plane but hear the nightmares on the gear. Hasn’t been in the air yet glad I seen this I will install it before it goes up
It’s a good plane otherwise
Just ordered the upgraded gear for my incoming Viper. Great video!
Awesome. Thanks for watching
This is a must do mod for any Viper IMO. Nice work 👍
Thanks Brandon, nice upgrade, just ordered them, but I did a mod that seems to be working well, I took off those hard rubber wheels and went with a flexible foam wheel, no more bounced landings....
Hi can you send me the link of the wheels you installed
www.rc-castle.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=517_268&product_id=8734
I have FMS Viper, just about the same, the problem with the nose gear is firstly not properly tempered wire, secondly a flat is ground just at the point of greatest strain. Best to completely dismantle the nose gear to get to the c clip holding it in place, and put new proper piano wire and then the upgraded suspension. Many thanks for pointing toward the upgrade available, I was going to go with gear from Avanti, but will now try to get stuff from rc-castle
The plane I put that on was for a friend. He has about 50 flights since and loves it. Thanks for watching.
@@JustPlaneCrazy that's good, I'll do same as you then. Also just thought how difficult it is to make a new c-clip groove! Thank you very much for replying
Nice Flight, I love my Eflight Viper. Happy Landings.
What a great upgrade.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Keep up the good work.
Hey JPC, thank you for providing not only and excellent video, but an excellent upgrade to this beautiful Viper 70mm. I have this same Jet and it's coming next week and I've also purchased the Top-Design CNC Suspension Strut & Wheel Set For E-flite Viper 70mm EDF Jet. This is a no-brainer for sure!
Welcome🤪😜😝
@@JustPlaneCrazy Thanks. BTW, they arrived today so we're all good. I was wondering if these "slip-on" (0.74oz) wheel gear set upgrade could be also used on a E-flight Habu SS 70mm? I realize the gear is rooted but it would soften the landing. Just a thought.
Not sure. Never flew a Habu. Enjoy the viper
@@JustPlaneCrazy It's a new day, in an unexpected way. I started to assemble my brand-new Viper 70mm late last evening. The stabilizer, rudder and fish the wires through neatly.
So, first thing I did the next morning is go to work on the plane at my workbench, I carefully turned it over on the stand then the rudder and stabilizer smacked the end of my workbench and cracked the 5 fasteners attached to the plastic threads to the fuselage off. At the tail, the small plastic collar (with "copper" threaded inserts) is sheared off, not the 3mm machine screws. I have to take some blame, I probably over tightened and it's a rookie mistake. So, I suppose can either CA glue the entire tail assembly together (old school) or send a support request to HH and no telling how long that'll take. I think I'll just use some medium CA and be done with tail section. Then move onto the wing and be more cautious, and finally upgrade the landing gear set, starting with the mains.
Such a great presentation video. Many thanks for posting this. I have the E-flite Viper as my first jet (bought it in the USA) & flown the heck out of this great model. I cut it up a bit when the wind changed & aborted the take off into tree wires, but it hot glued back & continued to fly so well. Here in Australia the parts were very expensive (wing & fuse) plus not available so I ordered an FMS Super Viper (same) & swapped the 636 receiver. naturally flies the same. I also ordered the Avanti V3 & noticed the Oleo gear...HK had the Oleo gear cheap which looked like 1 each for US$9 so ordered two but on arrival they are a pair, so plenty to try x 4 . I then discovered your video so will try the Super viper changeover gear before the front bends. The spare one I will look at trying on the also weak from gear on the Aerocobra P-39. (Now there is a good video for your to show a mod.) Thanks once again.
ua-cam.com/video/_fUwKiKrCAI/v-deo.html
Nice vid. I love Runcam views of places I also like the wether report. Nice touch. Thanks for watching
Many thanks. With summer almost here & a beach nearby i have had some great flights.
ua-cam.com/video/3snWFiFd8YY/v-deo.html
Tonight, following your guide, i replaced the p-39 front nose strut that easily bends as with the viper. Now after re i nserting an Oleo strut all works great with no mods needed for retracting.
Many thanks again.
Thank you good video, and thank for the link to RC-castle
The FMS Avanti V3 noxe gear is a drop-in replacement. Only a small removal of material required.
Very informative Brandon great video
this is a good mod and suspension struts are very nice, but could you not minimise the force on the stockgear aswell when you pre bend the stock struts slight to the back, right under the coil springs, 20°-25° should work, it turns the landing gear into a say poor mens version of a trailing link suspension. You might have to work on the wheel wells a little here too.I did the same thing on other planes and it worked very well.... just an idea, and thanks for sharing, cheers.
Wow super upgrade!!
Yes it’s a good one. Really love the new 90mm Eflite Viper. Check out that vid that I did. I think it’s the best edf on the market
Hello,
thank you for the test, and for the explanations everything is very detailed. 🇨🇭
I NEEDED this video! 👏🏽🙌🏽 Thank you so much I'm currently deployed right now but will be home soon and the Viper is one of my favorite jets and I've been looking into upgrading the landing gear, this is great info Thank you Sir
Thank you for protecting us.
@@JustPlaneCrazy just doing my job but while I'm doing my job these videos are much needed so I know what to do when I get home
I realize Im quite off topic but do anyone know a good website to watch newly released movies online?
By god u guys realize this crap is easy to block. And stop. Why ruin peoples efforts with this stuff. No one here cares. Ever
... another nice upgrade is changing the original EDF to a FMS 70 mm EDF 3060/1900 kv motor. At Banggood around 45 bugs - about 7 ounces (~200 g) more thrust!
Just flew the used viper I got and mine has a bent nose wheel and I was also having trouble flaring here. Just subbed like your videos!
Awesome. Thanks for watching 🤪😜🤨😜
Great video. Thanks.
My nose gear is already kaput, any pointers on how to fix
You can order a whole new nose retract and then cut it, order just the pigtail, fish the c clip out with the retract closed or separate the retract case and replace the pigtail. I have done all 3. Just buying a new nose retract is the easiest
Great Video thank you for sharing this with us. Will make the viper so much easier to land without the bounce and bending the landing gear. I ordered the set of new landing gear today from RC-Castle how long did it take to get your new set?
Depends. Usually about 3 weeks. Thanks for watching
I like the idea of this setup, but I'm not crazy about the idea of going smaller on the wheel size. Would it be possible to use the stock wheels with these? I understand that I would have to cut into the wheel wells on the body a bit, but would the stock wheels fit onto the new retracts themselves with enough clearance?
That I am not sure. I think the nose fork would be a bigger issue. Honestly the plane has plenty of power and the wheels have been a non issue. There has to be probably 5000 of these units sold and next to no complaints about them. People have been very happy with them. Good luck with your choice
@@JustPlaneCrazy No the original wheels are to large for the frame of the new gear by 13.6mm
Thank you very much for this great video. I am upgrading right now before the maiden flight.
Anyway I have a proposal for making it even better ;-)
If you change the side of the spring for the mains then you can install it with the wheel pointing to the outside. This way it fits better into the body when the gear is up. In other words when the gear is up you can then see the wheels and the part of the gear which holds the wheel is lying inside on the body. There is enough space to install it like that.
Best regards...
Thanks for the input and watching. Good luck with the maiden
@@JustPlaneCrazy Hi, you fly it still with 2 springs at the front landing gear? Because it seems to be pretty hard then?!? The mains also have only one on each side. Did you try to use only one on the front gear?
Does the 3mm shaft hold even after several flights?
Best regards
2 on the front 1 on the rear. The rear only has one because of space issues. The axle is perfect. 100 plus landings.
Just repairing my Fms Avanti V1 70mm and that steering wire seems to be bent as you say,…
Good upgrade but in converting to the spring loaded gear, you go down to a smaller wheel size which is a disadvantage on grass.
I fly of grass as do my friends. We have had the upgrade for over 2 years now It’s really a non issue and it does really depend on what as with any edf what the grass field looks like.
Cool! Landing gear is the weakest point on all RC planes, a pain to deal with. Maybe I should follow your advice to change the gears on my Viper too.
All our club vipers who have gone with this gear love it.
Does this mod really let us forget about all the bending issues once experienced with the standard Wire strut ??
especially at the Nose wheel
If thats the case I would give it a try.
Thxs 4 your nice demo
If you change it before it’s bent the first time they seem to last forever. Several friends with hundreds of flights now. No issues.
How was the shipping from RC-Castle? I'm in MA and was curious how long it took to ship from Hong Kong. Thanks.
They have two different options. The expense option u get it in about 4 days. The cheap option is about three weeks. It depends what u want and how bad u want it. But they have always been good to deal with
Very good video Brandon...one question...I haven't started the mod yet. Before I do, looking at the video a couple of times, I hear 20mm on the mains. Did I hear you say 30mm on the nose gear? Thanks...
20 is what is recommended. You have room to make a little longer if u want.
How can I improve the steering radius of the front gear on the Viper?
From what I have found when you usually have a lack of turning in this plane it’s due to the front gear being bent. In that case nothing helps but replacing the retract pin. Also if you can check. The servo horn position. Linkage hole away from the servo and closer to the gear linkage will gains more throws. See if your locations can be moved. I never adjusted mine as I was ok with it. So I don’t remember if there are other holes
What about avanti 70mm V3 landing gear?
V1 fits with trimming. Not sure about v3
Does rc castle ship from hong kong? How long does it take to recieve? I never purchased from there before.
About three weeks in a typical slow order. Sometimes when you order a package deal they quick ship stuff and that’s a week.
Great video bro ! 👊👊
Wow, ordered immediately. Thank you.
What would your recommended CG be with this mod?
I go to the aft end of the recommendation in the book. I think that’s fine. Love this plane gear is just a problem. The 90mm Viper from Eflite is hands down the best edf I have flown. Period. Keep that in mind
Do you have to bend your old landing gears back into place? All of mine are bent. Or would I just slide it over the old ones and it will be straight
Once they bend the first time they will always bend easier. It’s best to put them on before the factory gear bends. In your case straighten them out and then put the new stuff on.
@@JustPlaneCrazy Just tried to order some of the landing gear, rc castle doesn’t take credit card?? What a joke
I always pay with CC?
I just tried to go through again and see it’s a PayPal only thing,,,no idea why they are that way not but not sure it would matter to me. PayPal is still secure
@@JustPlaneCrazy Okay maybe i’ll set up a paypal account then. I trust paypal so it should be no problem
Good job on the video. I would really like to know the name and manufacturer of the thread lock you use and if it's easier to remove the set screws in comparison to the blue Loctite after it cures.
Loctite brand red lock tite. It would need a little Heat to get out. I guess the goal is hopefully it never needs to come apart
I love this plane but hate the gear as everyone else. I put the avante gear on it but it was too heavy and not having trailing links upfront it was having the same problem. So after hours of work I just sold it. I would buy another one with your upgrade however between the price increase and the price of the gear from Castle it really doesn't make sense. I just went ahead and get the avanti v3 for less then the viper bnf. Also I purchased a e-flite f16. Haven't flown it yet because I think it's going to have the same problem with the front gear.do you have any idea if the same upgrade from RC Castle will work in the f16. Thanks. Great video
My friend is having f16 issues with the gear pins and hasn’t bounced it hard at all
The F-16 is much easier to land on the mains helping to prevent the bounce. I love my Viper, but when it comes to landing, the F-16 hands down is much easier.
@@Noncenx love the F-15 Eagle as it has fantastic gliding /dead stick landing capabilities.
Keep em coming, bud. I don't understand why these companies keep skimping on their landing gear! Side note: What is your favorite 1:7 scale (~60") plane stand?
I have professional laser cut kits now available. Email landinggearfix@gmail.com for info
EDF’s don’t bounce if you know how to flare and touch down on the main gear first.. ;-)
Well I don’t disagree with that but I feel my pilot skills are up to par and this model doesn’t stand a chance. It needs help.
@@JustPlaneCrazy Flaps tend to make a plane fly in a nose-down attitude. Some are worse than others. The Viper and the T-28 are two of the worst. To make matters worse, the Viper has a tendency to tip stall. It apparently doesn’t have enough washout in the wing. The 70mm F-16 is actually much easier to land and is very resistant to tip stalls. I think it’s a better first EDF than the Viper except that the shorter wings are harder to see and it tips over easily due to its narrow landing gear.
Only use flaps on a short runway and fly the plane to the ground. It’s a jet...!
Kill throttle when the main gear touch.
Nice video.
Thanks for watching.
In the beginning of the video you pointed out the weak spot on the nose landing gear. I've flown E-flite pigtail landing gear ever since they made them. So I've had a lot of time to analyze the bounce in landings. Other planes without these landing gear also bounce. Doing the modification still doesn't seem to address the weak spot you pointed out. With nose landing gear... am I missing something, l'm not getting smart, but Eflite still makes this type of landing gear. So is there a real problem with them or is it skill? I mean they do engineers these planes. One piece of information I do not have is takeoffs & landings on grass, I thinks it's a bad idea to do this and I will only use asphalt or fabric to fly on. I've seen to many landing gear brake on grass or dirt.
This gear will really lengthen the time it takes to bend that front strut. It fixes bouncing landing from not flaring but preserves the weak pigtail. If the pigtail is bent before installing this there is a slight benefit. If the pigtail isn’t bent it helps a lot
The Viper comes every time ! Love flying the thing ,,its just plane fun no stress. ' '' GET IT PLANE .. AAHHH ! ''' this was my first EDF '' PERFECT FIRST EDF ..BTW ... And I also did some mods with retracts ,, when the FMS V3 AVANTI was released I stocked up boy !!!! a tiny bit of hogging out of wheel bays and WAAAA LAAAAA !!!! grea.t fit , great EDF , one can not go wrong with the E FLIGHT 70MM VIPER !! There will always be one in the hanger.A fun to learn mid size jet , to get some basics skillzzzzzZ going on ..
Those Avanti gears v3 cost an arm and a leg :-) these are only $27 + shipping :-)
@@tructran8783 Yep 👌🏼‼️AGREEED 100% I have the v3 and I'm usually ripping the retracts clean out the fuse ..😆SO ,,, IM always stocking my shelves with extras whenever possible. OR whenever they come back in stock ‼️‼️ SEEMS ,, Im not the only one tearing the heck out of retracts. Get'em when ya can .. ya know
My front wheel isn’t going all the way down, I used the upgraded wheels
The front pin is most likely bent
FYI to anyone planning to order these: I ordered them last week but RC-Castle said it may take up to 28 days to receive them.
It’s also the Chinese New Year Vacation
🔥🔥🔥 My first edf jet arrived yesterday (Viper 70mm) excited is an understatement. Thanks a mill for this review and instruction vid, have ordered the gears and burner kit (couldn't believe the price, it was rude not too) How have you found the gears since making this vid?
Still amazing. Has held up perfectly.
Your video shows the smaller wheel size but does not really reflect how much smaller. (too hard to see in the video). I bought these with high hopes but I can't decide if I should go from a 53.6 diameter tire to a 40mm. It's just too small for the 70mm Viper.
Chris, they are smaller but many of my friends have these and fly at a variety of fields with these and don’t have issues. In fairness not all fields are the same and as I said I get nothing from rc castle and they have probably sold thousands of these. Try around the wheels are fine
@@JustPlaneCrazy Okay, I just don't know if I can bring myself to cut off the larger tires. Maybe I'll try them out, just not sure yet. Once I make the first cut I'm committed and I don't want to have to purchase new stock gear if I don't like them. Too bad the upgrade can't support a larger tire. I'll revise my above comment. Thanks for the reply.
No worries. The only grass I haven’t see these fly off of was grass no edf would fly off of.
@@JustPlaneCrazy I decided not to make the upgrade. I like the bigger tire size on the original gear. If you know anyone that wants a set of the RC Castle gear and doesn’t want to wait 4 to 6 weeks for shipping let me know. I’ll sell the gear kit for 25 bucks plus shipping.
K. I will keep it in mind
BRANDON!!! the gear upgrade is the best. ( we fly in a Narco runway) short, narrow and dirty hahaha😬😬😬😜😜, the afterburner is a head turner. 1000% thanks for the tips.
Can you help me with: I have a 4000mah 80c in my viper. Is a very tight fit, keep loosing my canopy during flight. Any tips
There is room to shave the canopy on the bottom a bit. With the burner you need to slide the pack front and that’s why u have the issue. I run 3600 mah 40c packs and they are fine. That may be your best option.
Like friend ✈🤝🏼✈
Thanks for watching
is it R rated vipers?
What do u mean?
So... just started this upgrade and the MLG do not retract all the way... they can't... the struts are too thick. I mean its almost all the way but the wire gear tucks all the way up firmly and since the MLG goes into like... stop because its bound up its kinda flappy... Not sure I'm very happy with this although I know the nose needs it...
Edit: Maybe they changed the diameter of the MLG struts or something but they do not allow full retraction as is. I am going to have to take a file and knock off a few mm flat spot on the side that bumps up against the retract. Not a big deal but these are 100% not just a drop in like this video shows for the mains. Again, probably changed something...
Possibly but I couldn’t say one way or another. A lot of people have gone with this gear and no one else mentioned anything. Reach out to rc castle. They are typically very responsive.
@@JustPlaneCrazy tbth its not worth it, the nose wound up fitting great and the mains will work fine with just a little bit of material taken off. Who knows.
Make sure the pins that stick out of the housing didnt fall down in the retract jamming them up. Send me a pic to brendenmccormick@att.net
Sounds like a good idea but ordering anything overseas now forget it It Probably would take 6 months to Receive it
They offered different shipping options at the time I did this vid. Yeah who knows anymore.
I love the Viper. Crashed one last year got another and painted in the Frecce Tricolori livery. Maiden flight on Saturday, was nervous and landed on grass (not having changed the wheels with rubber with ones with foam, landing on the runway the plane jumps like kangoroos). Result: Front landing gear bended. This video is very interesting will order a set of new landing gears at RC-Castle. This is the video of my flight ua-cam.com/video/txuShvzpn8I/v-deo.html
Wish u more great flights. The vipers are awesome
28.3 grams equals 1 ounce
Great work and explanation but please stop using literally wrong. (At times).
I guess if I use it incorrectly then I don’t know when it’s correct or incorrect. Eh... grammar, I will stick to planes.. literally 🤣😂🤪😃😜🤣thanks for watching and putting up with me
Too many ads...bye
Understood. Ads are the only way we make a few bucks and I mean a few. We get pd nothing for time in to making this or the $1000,s spent in equipment to record it.
Got mine done. Thanks for all the info Brendan. I did both upgrades. studio.ua-cam.com/users/videouyToNiXLxy4/edit