Guys
Fairly new to the jet scene and the mandatory use of retracts in such aircraft, I was pondering which way to go with my latest build (FB T33) wrt having a reliable retract system, considered electric but would appear that having a system that is totally reliable may still be a little way off, also looked at hydraulics but not keen on all of the ancillary equipment required. That just leaves the pneumatic systems that have been in use since I started building and flying some 40 years ago, my experience with air is very limited so I thought that I would try to tap into the knowledge base that frequents this forum in an effort to find out what is the consensus in making such systems as reliable as they can be.
I am aware that there are still failures with air systems but I am sure that there are things that can be done to lower the incidence of such failures, I also know that there are many pneumatic devices available but what are the things that you always include when assembling an air system, ie do you add a gear fail safe (which one or ones), use any special airline retainers/fittings, what about connectors, how important is the size of the air tanks used in relation to the type of retracts and the associated struts and wheels that they are expected to lift, (my T33 has very large and heavy retract assemblies)? As you can gather I am looking for points that would see me (and others) benefit from the experience that is the norm from the more successful amongst jet fliers, any advice would be gratefully appreciated not only by me but to the general modelling community?
Thanks and Regards
Peter