Patent ID: 7520792

Claim:
A wheel assembly for a model airplane, the model airplane having an airplane body, said wheel assembly being adapted to be mounted to the airplane body and comprising: a driving mechanism including a motor and a drive gear unit driven by said motor, said motor including a spindle and a driving gear disposed fixedly on said spindle, said drive gear unit including a driven gear meshing with said driving gear, and an output gear driven indirectly by said driven gear; a linkage including a swing rod connected fixedly to said output gear at one end thereof, and a link having a first end connected pivotally to the other end of said swing rod, and a second end opposite to the first end; and a wheel unit having a pivot end adapted to be connected pivotally to the airplane body, a wheel-mounting end opposite to said pivot end and said wheel-mounting end and connected pivotally to said second end of said link, wherein said wheel unit includes a sleeve, a shaft member disposed rotatably within said sleeve, and a plurality of bearings disposed between said sleeve and said shaft member for facilitating rotation of said shaft member within said sleeve, said sleeve being configured with said pivot end and a lug connected pivotally to said second end of said link, said shaft member being configured with said wheel-mounting end; wherein said motor is operable to activate said drive gear unit so as to rotate said wheel unit between a generally horizontal idle position, where at least a portion of said wheel is concealed within the airplane body, and an upright landing position, where said wheel is spaced apart from the airplane body.