FW450/550 Multifunction Landing Strut Set

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Albert Greer
5 years ago
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2 Assemble the clamp pieces with M3x8 screws The Multifunction Landing strut set is intended to provide your Flamewheel 450 or 550 with two important assets: (1) Ground clearance under your multirotor to mount various add-ons, and (2) the required attach points for those components. The Set includes a gimbal mount for the DJI GoPro gimbal, and any other gimbal using the same mounting bolt pattern. The basic concept is a pair of parallel rails with clamps at various points. The clamps not only hold the rails to the airframe, but are also used to attach component mounting plates for your various nondealer-installed options, such as a camera/gimbal, datalink, FPV goodies, or the all-important battery pack. Assembly/installation consists mainly of the following steps: -- Attaching the mounting plates to the underside of the FW550 (not required for the FW450) -- Figuring out where you want all your add-on items positioned -- Sliding clamps onto the main rails at the required positions -- Mounting the rail and strut assembly to the underside of your FW Attaching the included all-purpose mounting plates and gimbal mount Go ahead and open up all the plastic bags, and dump everything back into the box or a small container. First, let's look at the various bits and pieces in the box Two long C/F tubes, 12mm in diameter. These are the main rails to which everything else is attached (including the multirotor itself) -- Two more long C/F tubes, 8mm in diameter. These are the landing skids. They go on last (but touch the ground first in a typical landing). Also, to keep the skids cleaner, you'll find four black rubber end caps, each one about 1 LifeSaver in diameter and 4 Lifesavers thick. Go ahead and slide these onto the ends of the landing skids now... it's an easy first step, and gives you a quick sense of accomplishment. -- One shorter 8mm C/F tube. This is a spreader bar that goes between the landing skids, to avoid that dreaded wobbliness and bowleggedness. Again, there are two black end fittings included, to be slid onto the ends of the spreader bar and then snapped onto the center of the landing skids. They're hard to describe, but you'll recognize them right away. -- Two large, U-shaped (bowlegged?) black nylon landing struts (the 'legs') which snap onto the main rails a little later on. -- A bunch of rail clamps (14) with threaded inserts on one side and a hole on the other side for a clamping screw and nut. SEE IMPORTANT NOTE AT THE END OF THIS SECTION Four C/F plates... one shaped like a plus sign, one like a minus sign, one rectangular but pointy on one end (the gimbal mount plate), and one shaped like a 'V' (the gimbal mount stiffener). -- Two more smaller C/F plates, sorta rectangular but with one side longer than the other. These two plates are used to attach the entire assembly to the airframe. -- A few vibration dampers (4), black rubber with an M3 threaded stud on one end, and an M3 internal thread on the other. -- A bunch of M3 x 6 socket head machine screws (18). These hold the mounting plates to the rail clamps, and are also used to assemble the gimbal mount. -- A few M3 x 4 socket head screws (4). These will be used to hold the entire rail/strut assembly to the airframe. -- Some M3 flat washers for the screw that attach the completed rail/strut assembly to the airframe. -- A few M2.5 x 8 socket head screws and M2 flat washers (4). These are used to hold the main attachment plates to the underside of the FW550 (they replace some of the existing screws that hold the FW550 bottom plate to the arms). 2 Copyright 2013 PhotoShip One LLC -

3 -- A few M2.5 x 8 socket head screws and M2 flat washers (4). These are used to hold the main attachment plates to the underside of the FW550 (they replace some of the existing screws that hold the FW550 bottom plate to the arms). -- A mysterious hex-shaped brass spacer that's internally threaded for M3 screws. IMPORTANT NOTE I TOLD YA ABOUT: The split side of the rail clamps are not the same on both sides! One side has a round recess for the M2 screw head, the other side has a hex-shaped recess for the M2 nut. If you install the clamps on the rails 'wrong side out', you won't be able to get at the screw heads later on, and if you ever need to reposition them, you'll have to remove the entire assembly from the airframe. Plan ahead! OK.. are ya ready? Here we go... refer to the photos as needed: Step A: Assemble the gimbal mount 1. Attach the hex brass spacer to the pointy end of the V-shaped gimbal mount stiffener with a single M3 screw. The V-shaped gimbal mount stiffener is the UPPER side of the gimbal mount. 2. Attach two rail clamps to the opposite ends of the V-plate with M3 screws. The clamps sould be installed so that the M2 screw hole is 'round side up' and extending outward from the arms of the 'V'. Do not install the M2 screws/nuts yet. The M3 screws should be snug, but not tight for now. 3. Attach the V-plate and clamps to the lower gimbal plate using three M3 screws. 4. Set the gimbal mount assembly aside for now. Step B: Install attachment plates to FW550 airframe (Skip this step if you have the FW450!) 1. The main attachment plates are installed so that one spans the gap between the two front arms and the other between the two rear arms of the FW550. In this step, use the outermost holes in each plate. They'll line up with the holes in the FW550 bottom plate. 2. Remove one screw from the underside of each of the two front arms. Use the outermost hole spacing of the attachment plates to determine which screws to remove. Set these screw aside as spares for your FW they will not be re-used for this project. 3. Insert the supplied M2.5 x 8 screws (with flat washers) through the outermost holes of the attachment plates, then back into bottom plate and front arms. The plates should be installed with the longer side toward the center of the airframe. Tighten securely. Step C: Assemble rails/clamps Generally, the rails/clamps are assembled with the plus-shaped plate near the center of the rails, and the minus-shaped plate at the rear. If this does not fit your specific needs, the plates and clamps can be positioned according to your requirements. The clamps are somewhat of a tight fit on the rails... you may find it easier to install them by inserting the tip of a small, flat-blade screwdriver between the 'jaws' of the clamp. 1. Slide two rail clamps onto each of the main rails and position them at or near the midpoint of the rails. Space them so they line up with the slots in the plus-shaped plate, but do not attach the plate yet. 2A. For the FW550: Slide two more clamps onto each main rail, one from each end, and position them to line up with the longer slots in the main attachment plates already installed on the airframe. The rails should be more or less centered with respect to the airframe. These four rail clamps should have their threaded insert holes OUTSIDE the rails. 2B. For the FW450: Same as above, but the four rail clamps should have their threaded insert sides BETWEEN the rails, and should be positioned so that they are lined up with the 4 slots at the outer ends of the FW450 base plate 3. Install the remaining four rail clamps (two on each rail) at the extreme ends of the rails. Don't worry about positioning them at this point... they will later be used to mount the minus-shaped plate at the rear of the assembly. 3 Copyright 2013 PhotoShip One LLC -

4 Insert the M2 clamping screws and hex nuts in each of the rail clamps, but do NOT tighten them yet. Again, be sure the clamps are installed on the rails with the M2 screw heads accessible. 5.

4 4 Insert the M2 clamping screws and hex nuts in each of the rail clamps, but do NOT tighten them yet. Again, be sure the clamps are installed on the rails with the M2 screw heads accessible. 5. Snap the rails into their slots in the upper portion of the landing struts, positioning the struts so that they are just inside (or just outside) the four rail clamps that are lined up with the slots in either the attachment plates (FW550) or the slots in the Base plate (FW450). 6. Carefully align the four rail clamps (Step 2A or 2B) with their respective holes or slots in the airframe, and tighten their clamping screws. 7. Add the gimbal mount assembly to the rails by sliding its two rail clamps onto the rails at the front end. The gimbal mount should be installed with the base end of the V-plate pointing forward. Install (but do not tighten) the M2 clamping screws and nuts. Step D: Attach to airframe 1. Insert the male threaded end of a vibration damper into the upper side of each of the four rail clamps that line up with the slots in the airframe or attachment plates. (Step C6) 2. Set the airframe upright, resting on top of the four vibration dampers, and check for proper positioning. Attach the airframe loosely to the rail/strut assembly using four M3 socket head screws and M3 flat washers. After checking to be sure the rails are aligned directly fore and aft, remove each M3 screw, one at a time, apply a small bit of Blue Loctite to each screw tip, and re-insert. Tighten as securely as possible without over-twisting the vibration dampers. Step E: Final setup 1. Shift the two gimbal mount rail clamps (if necessary) to ensure that the upper (V) plate of the gimbal mount points straight forward, then tighten its four M3 screws and two rail clamping screws. 2. Position the four rearmost rail clamps and mount the minus-shaped plate using M3 screws. Tighten the rail clamping screws. 3. Install the plus-shaped plated onto its centrally located rail clamps and tighten the M2 clamping screws. 4. Double-check to be sure all screws are secure. 5. Snap the landing skids into the lower ends of the landing struts, centered under the airframe. 6. Remove the landing skid end caps (if already installed), apply a tiny amount of medium or thick CA to the skid ends, and re-install the end caps. Thats it! In the immortal words of ZZ Top: "She's got legs..." 4 Copyright 2013 PhotoShip One LLC -

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