Bigger wheels definitely make life easier when it comes to taking off from grass or a rough surface.
Small wheels tend to be caught up in the grass that can lead to nose overs or affecting the ability of the plane to get up to speed. This is especially noticeable on EDF jets with the wheels tend to be much smaller. Take a plane like the Tundra. This makes short work of landing and takeoffs and in some part due to the very large wheels that it’s equipped with. Sure, the Tundra can take off and land on a dime but that comes with time on the sticks and a little bit of experience. We’re probably not going to be able to fit tundra wheels to your EDF jet. I guess we could but it’s not going to handle like a jet anymore so to some extent pointless. 
So, what options are available to us? Depends on what type of plane we have. I used to have a Balsa Yak54 and a Balsa Extra 260 with a wingspan of around 1200mm. I used to fly in an area that was prone to four-wheeled drives tearing up the area. I ended up installing 100mm wheels on those planes and although it looks completely ridiculous it worked and it allowed me to fly in an area that would be impossible otherwise. In this video, you can see how the chat installed larger wheels on his extra 330. You can see how effortless the landing and takeoff is. I think this chap has balanced the need for larger wheels so that they don’t look utterly ridiculous as in my case.
As you can see in this video the poor chap is having a trying time with his Spitfire. Now, the grass looks fairly low so I suspect it’s not his wheels but rather the technique. When taxiing out you need to remember to hold in up elevator so that the tail is kept down during taxiing. As you increase throttle you decrease up elevator as the speed increases and then add up elevator only when you are trying to rotate the aircraft.
This chap added some larger lightweight wheels to his UMX Beast and changed the ground handling performance dramatically. It becomes a pussycat to take off and land and is an excellent upgrade for a bit of extra fun at the park.
Types of Wheels
- 40mm Wheels 5pcs/bag
- Wheels 50mm 5pcs/bag
- Sponge Wheel D75xH22 (3pcs/bag)
Of course, there are really lightweight wheels similar to those used on the micro UMX beast.
If you’re looking for a little bit of bling whilst tricking up your aircraft you really cannot go past these bad boys.
Thick tires vs Thin tires
You should go with wide tires if you can because this will give you the best all-around performance. Remember that you need a large diameter to be able to cruise over the grass but choosing a thin tire means the wheel will slice into the grass and this is counterproductive. Wide tires are also great on sand so this is something worth considering. So there you have it. An easy upgrade that can be done by anyone with a few simple tools. Written by Gozerian
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