Back to work

The list of things to fix and redo on R2 is a mile long so it's about time I got moving. Break time from building is over. The biggest critical problem is R2's front foot needs serious attention. The triangle pieces of aluminum I used to prevent the foot from pivoting are a problem. They mashed down and pressed the top of the fiberglass foot so hard they literally pulverized the top edge of the foot shell. I can now see it's not the best solution to keep the foot rigid. So it's back to the drawing board there. My R2 drove a lot during Megacon and jumped over bumps and ledges with no problem but the foot absorbed some damage with all the movement and vibrations.

So instead of those (ugly) triangle things (I don't even have a name for them), I'll wedge some 1" aluminum strips between the inner angle iron of the foot and the edge of the ankle which noses into that angle iron. I bought some 1" x 1/8" aluminum strips today and I'll cut a few 3" pieces to jam into that area. It should keep the foot from pivoting down. A simple solution.

How I noticed the problem was once the fiberglass wore down, the foot shifted in it's position. All of a sudden the foot's front edge was riding high and the back edge of the foot was almost dragging along the ground. And this changed the dynamics of the rear feet in that they were no longer level.

One other change I'll experiment with is to again try using one of my massive front wheels I tried in the past which sits about 3/4" higher than the other wheels. Having a little more clearance on the front foot shell won't hurt. So I'll give that a try. We'll see.