radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

I understand the skepticism...I've wasted money on junk, too. These new HK gear seem pretty darn strong. I've had a landing or two that should have broken them...so far I've knocked them out of the wing twice. No damage at all. For sure Robart gear aren't as strong. It doesn't take much of a whack to bend the Robart sheet metal frames.

Here's a short clip of the HK gear operating in my 1/5 scale ESM LA-7:

http://s1038.photobucket.com/user/ra...p60le.mp4.html

stegl

Here are the HKing retracts that I was referring to.... appear to be very sturdy but the only fail part is the electric drive portion seems to really have to work when a little resistance is put onto the leg. Now that could be because I was using a 4.8 volt battery pack so a 5.8 to 6 volt power source may improve that . An external controller may help but not sure. I see they have cheap replacement boards so to me that says THERE is the weak link.

If you go the DreamWorks R/c ( great service) they have several lines of air and electric retracts and the BIG thing is they have individual parts when something bends, breaks or wears out. If retracts are good for jets then it will work on anything.

Red Raider

My Feedback: (86)

I've got considerable experience with Robart electric retracts. I've got a small set in a P-40 and now I have a set of 154s in a scratch built 104" P-51. You might can replace the HK gear several times for the cost of the Robarts, but what about the subsequent damage to the plane. I for one, will never trust anything from HK in one of my planes. Everything I've bought from them either broke, burned out or wore out WAY before the should have. I just replaced 3 chargers I got from HK. The cooling fans in all of them went out, and one of them just quit working. All 3 are now in a land fill. Yes, the 154s and the tail wheel cost over $600. But the only concern I have is my capacity for mounting them correctly, not counting down to the first (of many subsequent) failure(s).

stegl

With your chargers ; if the fan goes ; check with a local electronics store and replace the fan. Again as I say buy a quality made charger from a Canadian or American design or manufacturer and you have some sort of warrantee coverage. Agree that Hobby King lacks with any sort of service. Bought a electric gear controller so you didn't have to use a radio system to bench operate your retracts and it sort of craped out and they wanted me to go buy a movie camera to take a video picture of what happens. Like for $6 ? Replace it and have a happy customer. I limit my purchases now to nuts, bolts, screws, wire and stuff that can't break.... no more electronics. I don't like to fill my "broken box " !

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

Not everyone is having success with Robart electrics. There are several threads like this one: http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-w...ts-update.html

I had Robart electrics in my TF P-51 ARF and they never worked for more than a flight or two. I had several landings with one gear up and one down. They were repaired twice (replaced controller board and both electric motors) and they failed again both times. I sold them for salvage price.

I will say this about the HK retracts...you should not buy them unless you are comfortable being a "guinea pig" tester. They are a new item with no long history of success. You're gambling $60 against $400-500 that they will work OK. Hence the title of this thread.

You should not shop at HK if you disagree with their business practices.

You should not buy them if you believe that a high price guarantees great quality and a low price guarantees bad quality. You can spot these people buy the cars they drive...no Chevy's or Fords.

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

The unit you showed is much different than what's being discussed here. It is only rated for up to 10kg vs 12kg; it costs $76 vs $30, and it retracts outward vs inward.

I looked at the Dreamworks site. Their product looks good....but not inexpensive.

w0mbat

My Feedback: (1)

I have tested many different retracts over the years and have yet to find any Chinese made retracts that are even close to the quality of Sierra. In fact, I haven't found a set I would trust in any of my personal planes regardless of the price. We have spent quite a bit of money testing available retracts and attempting to have retracts manufactured ourselves in China over the past 12 years with poor results. The quality control, tolerances and metallurgy just isn't up to par with the Stateside manufacturers. Of course, we test them quite extensively so I can't comment on your results because I don't know how you test yours. I would like to know which retracts you have in your ESM LA-7? If they are that good, I would really like to get a few pairs and put them to the test. The one big problem I can see is that the cases are cast instead of machined. Unfortunately, I know all too well about the joys of Chinese cast metal retracts!

I try to follow every retract thread because we are always looking for quality gear that is inexpensive so we can develop future kits that have mass market potential.

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

The gear in the LA-7 are the ones that were in the first post in this thread....the HK $30 electric retract that is rated for 10-12kg.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s..._10mm_Pin.html

My only way to test them is put them in a plane and fly it. I admit that I don't have many flights on the LA-7 yet, but I have done some "destruction" testing....three really hard landings resulting in the gear being knocked out of the wing twice. If the cast metal was going to easily break I think it would have...no damage at all. I installed Robart struts in the gear....I had to machine a couple of adapters to go from the 1/2" Robart leg to the 10mm gear socket. I wish they made the retract unit with a 1/2" or 12 mm socket.

I have used other cheap Chinese retracts with good and bad results, but these are the best I've seen. They lock up and down very solidly and the motors show no sign of weakness yet. Are they Sierra quality...NO! Are they pretty good....Yes...so far. Are they worth you spending $60 bucks to test...I would think so.

stegl

Looked at those but I still have my doubts as to the 4 screws that hold the mounting plate to the rest of the retract body for a 25 pound rating.....Where do they put the circuit board ?

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

Its built into the unit.

dbacque

My Feedback: (3)

I don't have any airplanes with retracts (mostly a pattern or sport flyer) so I don't have a horse in this race. But I do have some expensive airplanes so I understand wanting to protect my investment. One thing that I haven't seen in this thread from the people who say that at this price they can replace their retracts 6 times when they break and still save money, is what condition their airframe would be in after 6 landing gear failures. Cheap is good if it's reliable. But if the failure trashes your airplane, not so much. Ever seen a plane cartwheel due to a retract failure? You won't be needing to buy a new set of cheap retracts for that one. You'll be buying new retracts for a new airplane. Oops, the cost just went way up.

I got no ponies in this one, I'm just saying. And honestly, I hope they're the best retracts that have ever been built. I've got a retract plane coming up and I don't have money to burn. I'll wait and listen.

Dave

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

Everyone is concerned with "protecting their investment", but does that mean you can't save a nickle anywhere? Saying I could replace the retracts 6 times was a bad analogy. Better to say that I could outfit 6 planes with retracts for the cost of one of the "high price spread". Have I had a plane cartwheel due to retract failure....yep. With Robart electric retracts.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

This thread is going the way of our automotive industry when Japanese imports were junk. Look at the imports now and think about how the US manufactures scrambled to keep up with innovation. Your; electronics, gas and glow engines are manufactured in Asia. Did I forget about were yours ARF are manufactured. We are a consumer based society and if the cheap retracts the Chinese manufacture are junk they will go by the wayside. I don't believe this will happen.

My intent was to get feedback not start a war.

chistech

I kind of alluded to this very thing. The first retracts from HK worked OK and the plastic would wear out or sometimes the retract was DOA. The last few sets I've bought have worked and continue to work perfectly. So to me, the stuff from HK is getting better. This kind of reminds me of the old Chevy 6.2 diesel. So many guys claim them to be junk and converted gas engines when if fact they were designed from the start as a diesel and were very good engines. I currently drive one now that gets 28mpg in my Blazer.

mauolaidom

It is the strut that really makes for the scale appearance of the landing gear.

Tony Iannucelli

My Feedback: (193)

For 40, 60, 90 size I use HK retracts with Top Flite 5 MM struts. I have the gear in the TF AT-6 (10 pounds, came with struts), a Dirty Birdy, (article on MAN.com), a hangar nine Spitfire 60 (another article on modelairplanenews.com), a Kyosho 50 size Focke Wulf, and a Heritage 60 size Focke Wulf kit (I dead sticked this one, and the retracts still work but the wing was dinged--I should have kept them up). I don't use the heavy ones with struts.... I use the $8 ones that have a 44mm x 41mm base with metal trunnions. I also just put a variation of one on the nose gear of my Dirty Birdy. That one was $12. You guessed it. They all work fine. The AT-6 has at least 100 flights, and the Spitfire and Dirty Birdy at least half that many. I also had a set on a TF 60 Corsair that I planted on a low pass, but the gear was up. It still works. There's a video of the gear on youtube. If you don't bang the landings, they all work fine. I have a set of Robart airs in a TF P-47. They work fine too, but are a pain to pump up and keep checking. And they cost MORE than ALL the retracts in my other planes.

Tony Iannucelli

My Feedback: (193)

By the way, electrics need to have the 'travel' at 100% in the transmitter. If you have ones that won't cycle, check that.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

Your right Tony and many modelers have no clue in setting up their transmitters.

flycatch

My Feedback: (26)

The unit I posted is not a HK brand since they sell nothing to support models exceeding 20lbs. I have not installed them yet however I did static testing and they have not problem lifting the strut/wheel assembly.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390695650418...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/141603080921...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
http://www.ebay.com/itm/121228860790...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

stegl

Static lifting and lifting while in flight would be two different tings. More stress and forces with the moving air.

radfordc

My Feedback: (14)

You must be on some good drugs! The video you linked to in the first post of this thread was for these HK retracts: http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s..._10mm_Pin.html

[h=3]Max model weight: 10~12kg[/h]

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

[/QUOTE]
Some thing new is just days away. It will be an affordable, yes extremely competitive (even with the cheap crappy knock-off imports you here of that have problems) new option to the electric gear market and yet be of very high quality and by an American company!!!!

BobbyMcGee

All I saw was some guy talking about the retracts ... That doesn't sell it for me. What are his qualifications to make any statements?

Just being made with aluminum means nothing. What about the quality and reliability of the motor, the electronics, and the operation? I didn't see any proof of that. Not even a demo!

It's just blah, blah, blah!

rcmiket

Buy cheap buy twice. I've found over the years that while more expensive the quality remains long after the price is forgotten.

Mike

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Well said!!!