Post 25: Tuning the perfect spring rate into the carbon-hybrid landing gear
June 7, 2026
The first real world strength test of the Canyon Lightning™ main landing gear is officially in the books, and the results are an absolute top dawg validation of composite engineering.
The test:
I brought the fully cured, laminated douglas fir and IM2 carbon gear legs out onto the shop floor today and I didn't hold back. I threw my whole body weight down on it, bouncing and slamming the structure to simulate a brutal off-field touchdown.
The verdict?
It is completely indestructible. No cracking, no popping, just pure, unbreakable structural memory.
The tweak:
But true aircraft design isn't just about building something that doesn't break. It's about tuning the performance. In its current state, 3 layers of IM2 UD and 3 layers of twill weave over a 4-layer staggered Fir core, the gear has a bit more flex and spring than I want for a 600lb gross weight mountain spec plane.
If my landing gear is too springy I risk prop strike or unstable tracking on dusty sagebrush strips. I want a rugged, active-response suspension. Not a trampoline.
The 6G upgrade plan:
Right now the gear leg weighs in at a featherweight 7 lbs 5oz. Because we've got a massive weight rebate from deleting legacy steel pipes, I have the room to optimize. I'm gonna sand the legs back down to get a clean mechanical bond and lay down 3 more layers of IM2 UD lengthwise on the faces, and finish with another heavy twill weave corset wrap.
This will exponentially increase the bending stiffness, eliminating the over-flex while retaining that vital pneumatic snap to swallow hidden rocks and ruts.
I'm not buying parts off the shelf and hope they work. I'm engineering a 21st century ultralight bush plane from the ground up, one layer at a time.
The testing video is here. Watch the carbon flex and the math win.
Stop dreaming. Start cutting. Fly carbon.™
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