Building Foam Wheels

[bjk896]

I decided after 70 years to build a 48" electric C130 in Depron. The purpose is the build not necessarily the flying.

A work in progress is to make the wheels and hubs which Ive found to be most interesting so far. I've made some jigs so I can cut identical treads and sidewall profiles. The material for the tyres is what I believe to be EVA foam from Gym mats and Ive worked through the problems of sizing, sanding, and production on my lathe.

The issue I'd like to resolve is whether the foam will be OK with the weight of the Herc in heavy landings should I ever fly it or to what degree unsightly Flats will be created if it remains a static display.. AUW of the Herc ? Dunno but the wheels are 2' nose and 2.5" Mains and I cant see it weighing more than 3Kg under worst circumstances

I'm interested in a wide range of thoughts about about what happens to foam wheels generally.

[kc]

My view is that for such a small scale model (1/24th?) retracts would be impractical (&heavy compared to wing area) for a flying model. So hand launching without u/c would be used by most people. Most people hate to see models fly with the u/c still down so retracts are considered essential by them-- doesnt worry me though-

On the other hand for just a static model for display then weight wont matter so any material could be used for wheels.

Of course if you can make retracts etc in a nice detailed scale model that is light enough to fly well then we all want to see it in RCME and on the forum!

So just my view and not helpful but I think you have to choose what sort of model you want.