Jump to content

WTB Flyer LE Arm


Recommended Posts

  • Premium Members

Hi folks. Does anyone have a Flyer LE arm for sale? Looking to use it with a Klassen Vest and XCS gimbal. I believe the Flyer LE arm will fit into a standard big rig vest socket and has a reversible socket with pin. But I'm not sure what size the arm post is.

 

Anyone?

Email me your best price and some pics please.

 

Ozzie@silverafilm.com

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

Hi Ozzie:

 

Unless there has been a radical change (and I don't think there has), the Flyer LE arm has a downscaled version of the socket block along with a smaller (than 5/8") diameter arm post, more like 1/2" as I recall. However, with some machining it can be modified at both ends and neither are destructive. I use one with my Nimblecam lightweight rig, converted to full-size socket block and 5/8" posts. Images here: http://gallery.me.com/chupap#100255.

 

The Flyer socket shares the same hole pattern as the standard one so you can replace the socket on a standard vest with the Flyer socket--however the Klassen doesn't use that. So I took my old titanium socket block and had a piece machined that mated it to the rod end bolts on the Flyer arm (in the pictures, that's the anodized section that snugs into the curved, half-moon cutout in the titanium block). This wasn't a big deal because I already had the spare socket block, but of course they are not terribly cheap if you don't. Switching back to the original Flyer socket is simply a matter of driving the assembly off the rods via the thumbscrews (15 seconds) and restoring the original assembly.

 

On the armpost end, I had a front end made that attaches to the arm via two screws (bottom one visible here) that drive into the existing tapped sections at the end of the arm. It functions just like the end of a PRO arm, with integrated bearing and drag control. The machinist did a beautiful job on that one. I was a little concerned about the added torque of having the post positioned that much further from the end of the arm, but it spreads the torque across the flat vertical side of the arm and there doesn't seem to be any problem. Putting that one back to factory is simply unscrewing top and bottom and replacing the original parts.

 

Now of course you are going to want to know who did the machining and how much. Unfortunately that machinist is not particularly reliable and I don't use him any more, and this was a one-off so he didn't make any CAD drawings or anything like that so you'd be starting again from scratch. You'd do just as well (hopefully better) taking those pictures to your machinist.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Premium Members

I would totally have the right machinist to make these parts if I needed to when I got a Flyer LE arm. And right here in town. And we can have stuff anodized in any color. Also locally.

Charles....Your Album is not currently available. Send me another link if possible. I will show these to my Machinist and then when i find an LE arm, get to work. A Flyer LE arm will help me with those super lightweight cameras. Recently, even the broadcast cameras are getting lighter it seems. On the last job with Wireless HD /SD Link my springs on the 3A gold arm are almost all the way relaxed!

 

Ozzie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
×
×
  • Create New...