Build Your Own Training Gear

     For any beginner pilot, having training gear on your first heli is going to be a life saver, especially if you are like me and try to start off with a Collective Pitch 3D heli.  If your aren't flying a co-axial heli chances are at first the controls are going to feel very sensitive, and it is going to be very helpful to have a little longer legs to keep you from rolling the heli or crashing it.  Here are some tips on how to build your own training gear easy, quick, and cheap.

     All your really going to need to build your landing gear is  4 ping pong balls, 2 dowel rods ( about 1/8" x 16" plastic, wood, or carbon fibre), 4-6 small zip ties, a 1/8" drill bit (or any way to puncture a hole in the ping pong ball), and tape or adhesive to secure the ping pong ball to the dowel rod.

     Next, drill holes into the ping pong balls and insert the dowel into the hole.  You can easily secure the ping pong ball from sliding around with tape or glue.  You should now have two dowel rods with ping pong balls on each end.  Glue or zip tie the two dowel rods together at approximately a 90 degree angle so they are crossed. Finally stick them under your skids and zip tie them to the supports. Take a look at the pictures for referencing how it should look. It is pretty self explanatory.

      Now, feel free to be creative and build you own training gear in your own way.  Just remember it can't be too have or it will bog down the heli.  As you become better at flying and more comfortable operating the controls, you can gradually slide the ping pong balls closer to the skids so they won't be as far out.  Notice in the picture below how the ping pong balls are slid toward the skids of the heli, and you can see the excess part of the dowel sticking out of the other side of the ping pong ball ( you can also clip off that excess dowel if you are confident you won't need to lengthen the training gear after you start becoming more advanced).