bushpilot1443

Does anyone know what is going on with Sierra retracts. I have been calling them for over two weeks up to 3 times per day and can only get their voice mail. Also they are not responding to e mail. Darrell was supposed to ship retracts to me 3 weeks ago for my KMP Hurricane.

bushpilot1443

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

There are a lot of trade shows and air shows going on.

mimoore67

My Feedback: (51)

Just speculating, but I believe Sierra Giant is a one man show, who makes really nice stuff! You get what your pay for!

G-Pete

Well, I call ones and order then I wait until Darrel sent me my gear...works every time!

When Darrel says 4 weeks and you bug him after 2 weeks, the time estimate gets reset.

That means after 2 weeks calling you add 4 weeks.

Now you can hit that reset button as long you want 3 times a day - but don't complain here - If you called today, I can assure you you get your gear in 4 weeks[8D]

tfarmer96

It’s worth the wait. I know it’s hard but try not to bug him he is very busy with orders. He is so busy he had to hire more people, buy more machines and move to a new shop. That will help things in the long run, but he is having to play catch up now because of the move. I have ordered many sets of gear from him and sometimes it takes a while. Remember this isn’t a factory in china he is milling this stuff in the USA with real skilled workers. You will be very happy with the end product. I know it sucks but hang in there you won’t regret the purchase.

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

Thats why I get my gear from Sierra second hand. Always works well that way!

The Fw 190 retracts I got from Sierra for my Miester Scale Fw 190 D9 are simply works of art. Now I have the Century Jet retracts too, there is NO comparison. The Century Jet stuff looks like el-cheapo chinese imports next to them. And the downlink on the Century Jet stuff is downright horrible.

I'll take a picture of the two of them next to each other...

pitsspecial

My Sierra retracts for my Tigercat took about 10 months to come through, Darrel and the U.K. importer kept me informed about them, they are a very unique set of gear, the gear was ordered the same time as the plans and parts, to be honest they were well worth the wait you WILL NOT find another better set of gear!! i received the wheels this week, still waiting on brakes but these are not so important because the airframe was not held up.

Darrell is slow to answer, but he has had problems with keeping up with demand, if he is on the phone or computer answering calls then who is making the gear?

Be patient guys, you wont regret it when you receive them!!


All the best,
Di n Dave....

tfarmer96

wow those look great! i bet they work silky smooth aswell. I am doing up a spitfire that is on display in malta. I took photos of the struts and sent them to him. He did a great job matching them up.

dubs1946

Well i have had no problems, next day e-mail reply they were in stock, ordered and paid delivered to Australia in 10 days, top retracts, top communication, the best business to deal with and a fair price. If you want something that is not in his stock items i guess there would be a delay.
I would not hesitate to recommend him to anyone, fantastic workmanship.

pitsspecial

Hi Guys,

Photo of the wheels i took today........worth the wait, be patient!


Di n Dave...

dubs1946

I am in the process of installing my giant FW190 Sierra retracts in my 100 inch TA152.
I am trying to work out if there is any way you can set the Toe in or Toe out other then moving the whole retract.
On other large retracts i have there is provision to move the axle with the scissor arms for fine tuning for the toe in and toe out.
Thanks Dave.

Bruce Sanders

Bill, I am always amazed at people. From your description of the CJM landing gear, one would have assumed you had purchased them new and they were defective. Like Paul Harvey used to say “the rest of the story.� About 1 ½ to 2 years ago, you posted a similar thread as this one. Since you were not in the CJM data base, I sent you a private email and asked where you got the gear and your reply (to the best of my memory) was EBay. I understand the gear in your possession were bought “used�. I then sent you another private email about sending the gear to my shop for evaluation. I was concerned about my product and your satisfaction with our product. However, according to my computer notification, you deleted the email and I never got a response. What else can a manufacturer do to evaluate a problem yet get no support or response from the modeler. Maybe it is reasonable to you but not to me.
I read other threads on this post and shake my head. If you want to talk to the owner of CJM or in his absence, a sells representative, please give us a call. Our phone number is 502-266-9234. Likewise, send us an email, and evaluate our service and products. Here are a few examples of our service and capability in the last 3-4 months.
a. A representative from an aeronautical company called and was not getting any response from “Brand X� after 7 months. We were contacted and 3 hours later, we had designed a set of gear for a 200 pound drone. Our designed passed the NASA critical design review the next week and the product was delivered 1 week after receipt of a purchase order.
b. Another customer waited over 3 years for a set of gear for a Skymaster going to Top Gun. A unique gear requiring a unique solution…. rack and pinion. We had just concluded work on a set of landing gear which was going into a turboprop aircraft using the same technology. I think the original gear designer was Jack/John Price who is a master builder and designer.
c. If you haven’t gone on line and seen Damon’s 22’ B-36 thread, you need to do so. You will enjoy every minute and learn a lot about master building. This was a “Scale� set of gear that had to work like the real plane. We made the nose gear with 45 degree steering capability and main gear, 13� from pivot to axle, had to fit a specific location, raise 4 tires weight 3-4 pounds and support a 100 pound plane.
I could go on and on. If you like a certain gear made by a manufacturer, stick with it. If you are not happy with a product, pick up the phone and talk to a person, not an answer phone. Every day we work on new and exciting projects. If we can be of service, contact us.

Evil_Merlin

My Feedback: (13)

The first time I used Century Jet Machine was a set of used P-51 retracts. Used does not mean broken or trashed, it simply means used. Thats what I was referring to LAST time in the post you are talking about. If you also remember, my follow up email was that I no longer had the plane nor the retracts, so it was a bit hard to do much more with them, do you not agree?

Now I am talking about a brand new, never mounted set of Fw 190 retracts for the Meister Scale Fw 190. Yes, they were indeed bought by someone else, but not used (or if they were they didn't use them much, not a ding, scrape or scratch on them and no paint at all). I got them because they were up for a good price and I needed a set of retracts for the Fw 190 D9. So I bought them. Lesson learned.

Bruce do you REALLY want me to put the Century Jet Machine retracts next to the Sierras? Yes, they are an older set, but a set none the less.

1.) I'm not a UAV builder. I am an RC plane builder that likes scale functionality.

2.) Sometimes some custom gear takes time, since I typically build from plans, custom gear isn't an issue. None the less, the information and details on the Fw 190 retracts are QUITE available (heck I could even provide them should you want them), which means, especially for in stock gear, ones that would be quite commonly sold, they should be rather scale and accurate. I'm not even sure what the downlink on these CJM gear is supposed to be!


An opinion was asked, and one was given.

Ompa

Ok, that explains why me neither get any answer on my mail and the order i placed tis weekend.

tfarmer96

I just pulled my set for the fw190 out and cant see where you might change the toe in or out with out moving the complete gear. No that means nothing....I have done bone headed things before and am sure i am over looking somthing. Evil_Merlin might be the guy to answer this question I see he has a set.

willey

My Feedback: (32)

Bruce, those are some awesome looking retracts you made there! I have a couple sets of your retracts and they work great, keep up the great work.

willey

dubs1946

Thanks tfarmer96 , i have them provisionally mounted at the moment and they look correct but retracts get hammered to hell during there life and if something moves in one of my not so perfect landings, i guess i have to reposition the whole retract.
Also as an after thought the Sierra retracts are opening 75degrees is there any way without major surgery i could open them up another 5 degrees as the dihedral on my aircraft is less then the Airworld plan they were made for.So what i have had to do is put the 5 degrees in the mounting procedure to be able to get the wheel at right angles to the ground.
I have made a set of retracts in my past and understand how difficult it is to get all the angles correct, in the set i made i found that if you change one angle or length of arm you have to change them all.
The only easy way i can see and that is not easy is to change the angle of the axle mount.
Anybody out there with ideas?Or do i have to live with a not so perfect mounted retract?.
Thanks Dave.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Bruce, we have a set of your gear going into a Meister P-47. They look and work fine. We machined the yoke down a bit to get more clearance in the bay, but they are fine. Thank you for you products.

fockewulf37

My Feedback: (102)

Hey guys If you are buying Century Jet Model gear for the Meister P-47 you should request the legs that are made for the CJM P-47. They are alot more scale looking and they will give you more room in the wheel well. If you are ordering the original P-47 gear they are made to the original specs that were given by Dick Bernier and the yoke is really thick and bulky. Here is a pic of the legs for the P-47...

Ty

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Thanks Ty. Man those yokes look nice. The cylinder off to the side is nice as well. That is definitely the one to get. Guess they will be one our next one :-).

Sorry, I know this is the Sierra thread, and Darrel makes outstanding gear, but if you just can't wait, CJM gear are a very respectable alternative IMO.

tevans55

I have two fighters and a B-25 with Century Jet retracts and I have never had a failure of any kind. Bruce Sanders at CJM is a great guy to work with as are all of the people there. I happen to live near the factory and when I occasionally drop in they are always willing to answer my endless questions.

ram3500-RCU

My Feedback: (221)

Perhaps we can meet him at the fly-in down there if we can make it. That would be great.

tevans55

Bruce is co-sponsor of Warbirds Over Louisville and I am hoping he will be able to come out to the event if he is in town. As you can appreciate he is a very busy fellow! I will try to get him there.

rustypep

My Feedback: (6)

My only experience until this year was with Robart (no complaints). I have heard all the praises and complaints on them plus CJM and Sierra. My first purchased with CJM was a set of custom retracts for a Vance Mosher P-66 and I was impressed with the turnaround and quality of those retracts. I am not sure I could damage this set without destroying the plane first. It also marks the first time I have had the landing gear before I started to build the plane

I am pretty sure I know the two people Bruce was referring to under example B. I have seen the rack and pinion set CJM built for that turbo prop and I thought it was pretty clever/impressive myself. Example C speaks for itself.

Ompa

Any one who nows when Darryl gets back??