rjwheeler

Looking for some help locating retracts for F4U Corsair 50 by CMP. I read some good threads on whether or not to use them and decided this bird needs them to look right. I've looked around and haven't seen any.

BigRetracts-RCU

Try Sierra Giant Scale. I think they have some that will fit the plane.

www.sierragiant.com/prod30.html

multicasting

I bought some mechanicals from World Models as I was told these would fit right in. Problem was the plastic case can't handle the pressure that initial touchdown gives. The struts have play in them, so you have to set them up at a slight toe in so that when the wheels engage and the shaft slightly turns, the wheels come into alignment.

With all that said, the control rod that is slightly bent to accomidate the bent wing will not hold up. My flexed which prevented the gear from locking in the down position. We fly off a petromat runway, and this plane comes in very slow with a decent headwind. Even with all this, I simply could land the plane light enough for the WM gear to work reliably. Most of the time, it collapsed because the pressure is applied in the direction that the gear travels when retracting.

Eventually the steel locking pin cracked the plastic case which allow it to expand just enough to allow the gear to collapse because the pin can no longer be contained in the locking position.

Hobbico retracts also do not fit because they are designed to fit deep inside the wing like in the old Great Planes kits.

My next set I am trying are the pneumatic retracts. Mine are installed, but the weather lately has been prohibitive of flying here in Dallas. I find myself disapointed that the retracts cost more than the aircraft!

I agree that the Corsair deserves retracts. Good luck and let us know if you find a solution.

Bob

rjwheeler

Reno, Multicasting,

I found some retracts finally for this bird. I found them at RichModels.com. From the pictures they look pretty much like they should work, hope they are not to weak. Also didn't care for the way the Wing studs mounted with the plywood washers so I installed a backing plate to support the aluminum studs. One other thing! I mounted the Magnum 70 sideways! As I'm looking at it I'm thinking about inverting the engine so I don't have to cut away the decals on the right side cowling. Kind of hate to roughen the look of the cowl, and it looks like inverted will work. Any thoughts?

multicasting

If you can mount it inverted, go for it. The nice thing about four strokes is the small muffler. I mounted my Rossi Sideways to fit the Pitts muffler. By the way, Richmodels.com is a porno site. Good think my wife wasn't paying attention when I went the to see the retracts.

Do you have another link?

Bob

rjwheeler

Multicasting,
I guess I have to say OOPS, wrong WEB site. The site is Richmodelusa.com. Don't think you will get a porno site with this one in case you are interested. My wife wonders why I hide in the basement so much. The retracts arived todayand should work just fine(I hope). I might see if I can't get some measurements and costs to have some made from a steel frame. Who knows there may be a market if the product can hold up. These are plastic and more the likely will end up cracked in time.
Inverted engine is the way I am going since the Head of the Magnumn is going to stick out of the cowl anyway. I don't want to mess up the nice decals on the side. I will take some pictures and pass them along as I start getting past the basics.

zeno

Those look like the World Model Retracts.

Hisham

Hey Bob,
What type of pnematic retracts are you using???
Isn't there any type of mechanical rotating retracts
with metal casting similar to the ones of WM ???
Thanks guys,
Hisham

multicasting

The Pneumatics in the picture above are Rom-Air. The photo of the plastic retract is WM. My neigbor thinks he can make me some new cases, or at least a sleeve to fit over the outside. Some time back hobbico made rotating retracts that had metal cases. I don't see them anymore, so I don't if they are available. They used adjustable all joints which required them to fit deep in the wing. The ball joints easily stripped out the collar on the strut when you tryed to tighten them down. I eventually welded the ball to the collar and to the strut which kept them from failing. In fact, in a wheels down crash, the gear survived when the rest of the airframe was trashed.

The problem is that the force on landing is pushed in the direction that the strut retracts. In my WM P-51, the retracts cases are rock solid. I really abuse them, but unless you land sideways (I have!!) the struts are never testing the locks in the plastic case. See my picture of the WM above.

If I didnt get the Rom-Airs so cheap, I would never spend $200 on retracts for a $120 plane. I hope someone solves this so I can get the P-40 without having to worry about all this.

Bob

cathurga

Hi Guys,

My 'sair should be arriving in my paws in the next day or so.....woohoo...

I will take a slow build and follow some of the advice that has been offered by all of you.

Bob, whats the deal with the surgery for Hobbico retracts? I bought a set of eBay (got ripped off,but that is because I wanted the metsl casings) and now I am afraid of what I am going to go through to get them installed....I really want the last of my problems to be shaky, nervous landings...afraid the wheels will fall out from underneath...

Has anyone ever tried cutting operational flaps into this beast?