RE: Are mechanical retracts any good?
I've been flying a set of World Models mechanicals in a 10 pound P-82 all season - I'd say the gear is flawless, but my landings are so bad that I work them over pretty well. I am also building a 64" Spit, and just got done putting Dave Brown retracts in and a low profile retract servo. I found that actuation was a problem, since the gear are set up for the actuating rod to run down the landing gear wire on this set. In other words, to get a stright shot to the two gears from one servo, the wheels must tuck up inward, not outward like in the Spit. So I was forced into a bellcrank approach to allow the servo to be in the middle, but the actuation rods to come from outboard. Hopefully, this makes sense to you - did you have a similar problem?