OK guys I solved the Lado problem. Mine where missing two screws from the factory but in a noncritical location on the circuit board. This made me wonder was the assembler not paying attention?? I decided to take them apart and see if I could tighten the gear mesh which is critical. Turns out there was side to side movement in the trunion so the gear and machined housing could move away from each other. I took a nylon washer and sanded it down to a few thousands (15 for one and 20 for the other gear). This keeps the brass gear in close contact with the housing taking out ALL slop!!! Yeah. Also some slop is found in the gear legs. The set screw is small in diameter relative to the groove and the threads where Grooving the groove! I replaced the set screw with a socket head screw cut to the exact correct length so the non threaded portion ran in the groove. Now it is smoother and has no rotation. The combination of the above has resulted in a degree (one or so) of rotation. They feel as solid as Sierra Designs gear. The plane has been tuned and adjusted to now it is time to fly. The Seidel with the Keleo ring sounds great! Kevin, the Xoar 3 blade 22X10 black painted warbird prop seem ideal for the engine. PS the interior of the Lado gear is jewel like. -Tom

Are you saying the slop can be removed from the factory units?

Um yes

I would be very interested to know how that will work on a real landing. A similar idea is used on the H-9 Corsair factory retracts and they have big problems. Now they used cup and ball, not the same set up you have. If that can withstand the side load that is going to be applied at touch down that is great. Also being that this corsair is going to be in the low 20 pound range how sturdy is the gear going to be?

Its my concern too. A lot of this is based on the original retracts which I have 6 flights on. They have not held up well. The Eflight frames are thicker aluminum. The ball link/turnbuckel rotation mechanism strength has held up and I have ordered some even heavier duty components to try. I believe the weakest link in the setup will be the trunion used by Eflight. We will have to see. A few of my fellow flyers at the club are using these retracts stock and they are holding up on 10lb planes ok.
My buddy Chuck has the LADO's installed in a H9 P-40 and they have worked great for him. The problem is they are always out of stock and replacement parts ??
I should have the Eflight's done and installed by next weekend. I will let everyone know how they work out.

[quote]ORIGINAL: Tom in Cincy

Well today's project turned out to be "how to modify an E Flite nose gear to use in my beloved BH Corsair" . So far it looks pretty good.

Tom this looks fantastic, have you test flown the plane yet? The retracts you used are available in the uk and price is ok. But will they be robust enough? Did you use the 90deg version

All finished!! Weighs 20 pounds 5 ounces.

Awesome!!
Great to see another BH Corsair with a "real radial" up front
You're going to love it! Keep it on the rich side of the needle and it'll fly great at 5/8's throttle and gives you scale speed or more,to 3/4 throttle above scale speed and it won't go much faster at full throttle just use more fuel. It's going to be an attention getter that's for sure.
I balanced mine per the instructions and I think I like it just a bit heavier in the nose but it's a good starting point.
On take off, when you think you're ready to pull back on the stick, let her run a bit more then lift off. These are sweet flying machines!
Kevin

Thank you very much Kevin. The engine is already fully broken in and adjusted. I am using the JR powersafe receiver and all 645MG hitech servos except a small one on the throttle. Since the picture I installed the Lado retracts and struts. I am using the supplied tank with all new tubing and stopper. This should fly it 15 min. All decals were trimmed with no clear left for a better look. That took three times the time to do. Your suggestions as well as others are greatly appreciated!!! -Tom
Here are more pictures.

Very nice. I believe you may have the lightest build yet. At 20.25lb it will not want to land! I hope the maiden goes well for you. The BH Corsair is the best flying Warbird i have owned.

I am going to use LADO units on my BH Corsair. I ordered and recieved bottom mount units; I need top mounts. So, used their "contact" feature on the Magnum RC website to seek guidance. Got no reply. Attempted to go back on the site, and to my dismay they have gone to some secure shopping protocal I can't install/access. Does anybody out their have a phone #? Address??

Old Dawg

Something is going on with there website. It must have gotten corrupted.
I don't advise down loading anything from that page. I've called them before and the guy is very helpful, at least he was to me. Sorry I don't have the phone#. Hopefully it will get straightened out shortly
Kevin

Go to this post and PM him> http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=10302536

Hope you can get it straightened up.

I feel dumb asking this; I have the 70" version and about ready to put him together. The gear, however, is in the stowed position and I can't seem to pull him loose without breaking something. Do I need to hook up the air pump and do some sort of activation, or just assemble the whole thing and fire him up with a full cylinder on board? Thank you, great thread.

Yes you will need to hook up an air pump to unlock the gear

I appreciate it, thank you.

Placed an order with Darrel (Sierra) for a set of ESM gear that may work. They rotate and have bottom mount and same strut length, will verify when received. Will post results. Also noticed that Wild Hare RC has a nice set for their new Hellcat which looks interesting but I don't have size specs on them, besides I only noticed them after ordering Sierra. Hope it all works with out any impractical modifications.

I hope the Sierra fit for you. I was looking at the WH R/C retracts and besides the $500 price tag they look to be top mount also. I don't know if adding a couple pieces of plywood on edgewise would be that big of a deal to make the top mounts work such as in "pattnuts" case. However we will be anxious to hear how the Sierra's do. I have been busy and the weather has been nothing but wind and rain so my Corsair has been grounded.

Tom:
Here are some quick pics. Retracts just delivered so I laid them into the wing retract opening area just to get a quick idea how they would do. Looks great to me. I will need to grind off the inside edge of the raised wood base blocks (not the flat wood base plate. This will allow the retracts to sit against the base plate for additional clearance to move gear forward-which will then move the axle dead center of original wheel location. Yes I will need to build a standoff block onto the original base and blocks due to the top mount design of the Sierra, this should be easy to do. One could drill the blocks to use original blind nuts in base to hold the blocks rather than glue. I dont see any need to modify surface of wing, it should all fit just fine. I have just sold my house and moved into an apartment so it will be a bit before I get tools out to finish it.
As you can see they are typical Sierra gear, very robust and well designed. I expect them to look great and hold up well.
PS: I personally will just epoxy blocks in place, I feel this will be very strong and I had rather the block glue joint fail on a bad landing rather than tear out the base plate and severely damaging the wing.

It looks like they would support a full size !! I am struggling to see how they rotate, Keep us informed mate, what was the price tag?

Hope these pics help. I could not get a close up in focus. The rotation is created by a curved groove in the front block with a rotating pin (very strong) at base of strut pivot block. As the retract moves up and down (same as standard retract ) the base strut pin moves in the curved groove and rotates the main strut (inner shaft). Very positive action and no slop. Hope that helps
PS: Cost was $300 plus shipping which I thought was a very good price.

After yet suffering another bent leg today I am desperate to sort these retracts. Could you let me have a web address I will try to obtain them in the uk. I agree the price seems fair as long as they do the job.
Thanks for the information

Here is the web site:
http://www.sierragiant.com/products.html
I never did see them listed on site but if you email Darrell and tell him what you have, he will get you the correct gear.

Hi Everyone. Today I maidened my Seidel powered corsair today. Holy Toledo, it flew majestically. 3rd throttle flew it well and half was plenty for big loops. Full was downright insane, way over powered for scale. The flaps are perfect. Full flap landings look so carrier like and the plane only rolls about 80 feet. Too much fun. The 300 series lado,s seem to be holding up. The xoar 3 blade 22x10 black and yellow warbird series prop was perfect. Yeah. Boy my nerves have calmed down.No bad habits. -Tom

Isn't that the coolest set up ever and every pass being able to hear those seven cylinders rumbling. I just love it!
Great job! Radials are the best!!
Kevin