jmurnane

I'm collecting all the material for my next project and i cannot find a vendor or address for spring air retracts. They make a scale set for this plane. Any help would be great. Thanks

bridog

My Feedback: (7)

http://www.retracts.com/

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

Sorry, they do not make a scale set for this plane. You would still need to order a set of oleo struts from Shindin.

paladin

My Feedback: (9)

Jmurnane, They do make a set with oleo's if you want them that way. You need to call and talk to Bruce ( I think its Bruce) and ask if he would make anlther set of retracts and oleo's like he did for "wulfman" (on RCU) flop tite Focke wulf. Do a search on wulfman for his thread.

Joe

gonsos

other retracts for this plane
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXUL86&P=7

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

Good luck with those retracts. They won't last more than five flights before you have to bend them back.

paladin

My Feedback: (9)

I must agree with Richard L. . Talk to the guys at spring air they can fix you up with a set of retracts that will last if you treat them right, weather you want Cold rolled or OLEO struts. You can reach them at

http://www.retracts.com

Joe

gonsos

Why? I have a CJ 90Âş rotating in my Kyosho Corsair which I've flown more than 100 times and they are in perfect conditions and the landing field in our club is not very good.

I am working now in a ME-109 G14 and I'm thinking in buying this retracts: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...p?&I=LXA795&P= which are very nice for a scale look. Do you know or think that that retracts are not good quality? They are the only scale ones that I know for a .61 size.

fwman1

My Feedback: (22)

I have a set of 1/5 scale FW retracts made by Spring air. Excellent product. They didn't offer the struts at the time I got these. One plus with the Spring Air product is that you can buy a different set of side rails that will change the retract angle from 74 degrees to a 90 or 85 degree unit. The cost is very reasonable. My FW snapped one landing, and tore up the wing and the struts, but the retracts still function flawlessly. I could not have been more pleased with mine.

Roger

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

Because those retracts have very short struts and your plane doesn't weigh much. I have the same plane with the same retracts. The TF FW190 is heavier and have much longer struts. To make matter worse, the struts are angled in just like on the full size, so even if you take a sharp turn at high speed while taxiing, you will bend the soft struts.

aghost

My Feedback: (13)

I have a set of CJ retracts on my TF FW-190. Richard L is right. They bend too easily. Actually, there is a soft insert used to connect the retract mechanism to the strut. The soft insert is the part that bends. I think the long strut length and FW gear angle is more than the insert can handle. CJ does sell spare inserts.

Brian

paladin

My Feedback: (9)

While on the subject, I Have used CJ for years with average sucsess. When it was time to put retracts in my Platt Focke Wulf 190 A-4 I bought a set of CJM's. But the Camb was wrong. Locked down is not over center, its inclined plane. That means load them up with a side load and the forward one can fold.

Further more my son and I bought a set for each of our flop tite P-40 and evergreen P-51D a few years ago. only two of the four cylinders held air only one of the FW cylinders held air. after treating with AC oil and flushing for over 6 months they still leak. I know if I call Bruce he will replace them but I need to send him the falty ones first. I don't have much hope they will arive here in a timely maner unless I pay for them. I base this on the last strut addapter I bent I ordered a replacement from bruce, drew it up and ordered it from the local machine shop, also. Well the plane was only down for about a week and I'm still waiting for the parts from bruce (believe I ordered them in April06.

We swopped the cylinders to get one set that worked and before april I've got to do something.

Joe

gonsos

Ok no CJ retracts. [&o][&o][] It is very sad to see a company that doesn't take care of a very nice product.
What about these ones? http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...p?&I=LXJZD5&P=

Richard L.

My Feedback: (24)

Those will work, but they have the wrong retract angle. You want these:

1) [link=http://www.shindinmachine.com/FW190/FW190.html]Shindin FW190 Gear[/link]
2) [link=http://www.retracts.com/Retrax_700.htm]Spring Air #709[/link]

Larry S

My Feedback: (6)

I'll throw this in so you really think of not going with CJ. I had a set on my Pica FW 190 and they bent the first time our while taxing out on our field. Switched over to Spring Air and never regretted it. I use the oleo strut from the CJ's and the Spring Air units in the wing. The Spring Air's will accept the 3/8 oleo strut from the CJ units. I just cut the pin flush with the top of the oleo, and bingo, nice landing gear. I do not have the scale angle, it's just to much for our rough flying field.
Larry

gonsos

Thank you very much for your help.

What I really like from CJ is that their retracts for the Pica FW-190 have 2 angles (open and forward) http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...p?&I=LXA795&P= that is perfect scale for my ME-109 G14.

davo580

you can always have a talk with trimair they have very nice retacts have a talk to them I'm sure that they can help you like they did me

jmurnane

Thanks for all the advise, I'll be going with spring air.

CoosBayLumber

My Feedback: (1)

I'd like to bring up an old subject once again. Back in to the process of developing a more accurate FW type aricraft now. Back a good ten years ago, with the aide of five folks, we developed a laser cut kit of the TA-152 in 1/5th scale. It flew on electric. Never hear about it, well that was because there were some problems with the prototypes. One of which was the retracting landing gear.

Much as on the Mustang, the F-W A/C originally placed the pivot point of the landing gear up near the leading edge. Much as they yelled, absolutely zero of the model gear manufacturers had this feature. In researching, we found the Unitacts by Tony were adaptable to more accurate pivot point placement. He in fact issued a letter on how to modify the standard FW-190 gear that he makes, such that it could then pivot off to the side of the basic unit. This moves the pivot point closer to the leading edge. Plus he had the extra folding interior leg on his unit. He supplied a steel pin to move things off to one side. He got this idea as another manufacturer (now dead) offered it on his big Mustangs.

We took them apart, modified them as per his notes, made a few laser cut plywood parts to support them better, mounted them up, and flew it. They weigh more, but made the thundering touchdowns (poorer batteries and motors back eight years ago), a bit easier. However, we soon saw that the gear was trying to beat upwards through the balsa skin. They were arching the surface. Gave up the project about 1999 or 2000 then. It worked, but no.....

And, thus.

Currently looking for 1/5 scale retracts that are built as a left and right hand side, such that the pivot point can be placed more forward, nearer to the scale position, instead of nearer to the high point in the wing as so many of the manufacturers being yelled about here now do.

Any ideas?


Wm.

paladin

My Feedback: (9)

Wm, I saw this type of cantilevered shaft retracts as an upgrade to Rhom Air’s. the problem I had with it then was that the cantilevered part (I don’t want to bend) was to close in size to the CRS strut.

Were I to do this I would move the cylinder and camb back behind the main spar where there is room. Extend the cantilevered rod right up and through the LE, on the back side of the LE I would mount a flange with a oilite bearing to support the cantilevered rod. Right behind that, the strut mount, then the other side of the support for the cantilevered rod. I hope this is understandable?

This would remove the cantilever, and allow the strut to be moved forward buy significantly changing the build of the plane. The problem is most people want to buy a unite that just drops in. this would have to be assembled into the wing (just like on a real plane). That would make it unmarketable.

Joe

CoosBayLumber

My Feedback: (1)

What you are mentioning, is what happened on the Unitracts. 'cept we used plywood for the bearing just behind the L.E. stock. Their overall height was pretty great, but lended it self to the offset rotation. I think in addition, we filed off some of the L bracket top edges.

Wm.

paladin

My Feedback: (9)

So you had the strut suported on both sides but the front mount would flex.

Do I have the failoir correct?

What did you have the front mount , metal part screwed to?

With the length of the Fw gear it amplifies the stress the wing has to deal with.

Joe

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

so I just got a TF FW-190 with CJ retracts as a package deal( the price was less than a skyshark W.O. retracts) so I jumped on it.
I don't have much of a problem with the CJ's they don't seem that weak to me,( I am using a pair on my TF P-47) alot of the problems seem to be the conecting pins but the fact of the matter is I don't see them being any better or worse than any other brand.
shindin machine there expensive and they look heavy for a 60 size, robarts you have to fit the robostruts to make them work and there a pain to line up as well as there is no angle to the axle so the wheel is perpendicular to the ground so there not so special either.
I will disasemble my units to find the weak connector everybody has been talking about so I can have one machined to replace it, but I really don't see all that much difference between brands some have problems some leak, my robarts leaked untill I found out where it was and fixed it, there all a pain in the rear, some more than others.
there are alot of opinions being knocked around, but how about the actual owners of the gear chiming in and what they did to make sure they didn't have any problems.
are there any resonable fixes other than buying a pair of 280.00 retracts for a 150 .00 plane there has got to be some sort of middle ground to solve the minor issues.
the CJ's do sell for 240 on tower but with there discount deals there about 205.00thats a bit of change for the don't have any left croud
bent gear comes from hard landings I have 2 H-9 planes both with stock chicken leggs they work fine as long as your not landing like your flying a chunk of lead and re-enforce the mounts so they won't rip out also.

aghost

My Feedback: (13)

bigtim: At least three owners of CJ gear (including myself) made comments about that gear. Let us know yours are doing after four or five landings. One comment about making stronger inserts. If you choose a stronger steel that is also more brittle, the insert may snap rather than bend. Then you are faced with drilling and tapping each half of the remains to remove the pieces. The original insert would have just bent and is more easily removed.

Brian

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

that makes sense when I opened up my P-47 units the pins were solid I am wondering if the pins have been improved as I have seen the hollow versions and they seem to be the benders, as a replacement I will ask a guy at my club who makes turbines if there is a aircraft aluminum replacement that would be stiffer yet in a pinch such as a real hard landing would bend rather than break off,and if I can get him to make me some .
so far the mech. seems to work well it's the strut connections that seem to be the failier point in these units robart struts also use a spring steel connector in the 600 series and they hold up fine.
time for some testing if the wind would die a bit it's been blowing a gale for weeks