XM2 Labs has announced a new Retractable Landing Gear Upgrade for Freefly Systems Alta X Drone. The SLG-20-AX is a Retractable Landing Gear set from XM2 Labs, designed to upgrade the Freefly Systems Alta X Drone.

The SLG-20-AX is a bolt-on and fly solution and it gives the Alta X a durable quad strut system that is driven by powerful Hitec servo motors and calibrated for peak performance.

It is a good solution for carrying the DJI Ronin 2 and the Freefly MoVi Pro. The SLG-20-AX is the first retractable landing gear system that has been specifically manufactured for heavy lift operations on the Alta X Drone. Until now, many Alta X users were adapting retractable landing gear designed for much smaller drones, which were never intended to carry the weight of a fully-loaded Alta X.

XM2 Labs’ design consideration was to make everything as tool-less and lightweight as possible, while still retaining durability for heavy-duty operation. The standard landing gear for Alta X users is “Aero landing gear”, which is a fixed tripod configuration attached to the gimbal frame. While Aero landing gear is lightweight and has no moving parts, this simplicity of design adds complexity to real-world operations. Since the Aero landing gear is attached to the gimbal, the drone operator needs to carry around a bulky stand to mount the drone until the gimbal is ready. When flying in windy situations, or on uneven ground, the drone may start to spin on the gimbal before takeoff, and landing can be tricky due to the small footprint of the tripod gear.

The SLG-20 Retractable Landing Gear has been in development at XM2 Labs for approximately three years. A beta-testing program was launched to further development and retracts units were dispatched to a range of professional Alta X operators around the world, helping to optimize the landing gears performance.

The SLG-20 modules have been pre-installed on carbon fibre adapter plates custom-designed for the Alta X (AX), and allow users to attach the set directly onto the frame of the aircraft.

The SLG-20-AX Retractable Landing Gear for Freefly Alta X is available in two versions. Customers are able to select either 600mm or 700mm carbon fiber tubing. 600mm tubing has been designed for use with Freefly MoVi Pro gimbals and 700mm tubing has been designed for use with DJI Ronin 2 gimbals. The price for the SLG-20-AX Retractable Landing Gear Set is $3300 USD and is available now from XM2store.com.au. Spare parts are available for all components and additional accessories are also available for purchase. Additional accessories included a 65mm Ronin 2 standoff for Alta X. XM2 Labs 65mm R2 standoff replaces the stock standoff with toad-in-the-hole supplied with the freely Alta-X. When coupled with the XM2 Labs R2 Quick Release, users can directly install a DJI Ronin 2 gimbal without modification. The purpose for these accessories is to allow the R2 gimbal to remain un-modified and seamlessly change between other modes on-set (handle, crane, suspension arms, etc).

Matthew Allard is a multi-award-winning, ACS accredited freelance Director of Photography with 30 years' experience working in more than 50 countries around the world. He is the Editor of Newsshooter.com and has been writing on the site since 2010. Matthew has won 43 ACS Awards, including four prestigious Golden Tripods. In 2016 he won the Award for Best Cinematography at the 21st Asian Television Awards. Matthew is available to hire as a DP in Japan or for work anywhere else in the world.

A site for working professionals in the TV & Film industry