RE: Electric converted retracts
 

Remember a company called "Kraft". They manufactured TX and RX plus accessories. One accessory was electric retracts. So your wrong it is not something new just like gas engines.

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

Yeah ev5 valves are heavy, im using a 2200 ion for battery. Pulled out some tubing and fittings as well.. its not much less but it is less, the air cylinders arr bigger than the electric actuators.

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

Thanks Bob. Great info. I'm thinking about doing this with my SM L-39. I'd need to do some door sequencing, too.

Sluggo

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

Just asking, what if a wheel get stuck in between a door...does that drain the battery ?
Cuz if thats on the Rx-battery you might be in trouble

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

The Down and Locked system has safety built-in, so that, should the gear get stuck or jammed, the actuators stop operating and there is no battery drain. Yet, the system remains operational - i.e., you can still flip the switch the other way and take the gear back to whatever position it was.

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

Does the down and locked gear controller also have an adjustable control for the gear doors??

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

Vincent,

Yes. At this time, this has to be adjusted at the factory though, with customer input of course. They virtually always get it right. Soon, they intend to release a software update to allow the customer to tweak that and other settings at home.

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

It shouldn't. On my smaller electrics it stops and holds the position if it can't go any further.

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

Yes they do... but it's extra. Around $150 and it's built into the unit so it doesn't take up anymore room.

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

A car payment or retracts?  2 house payments or a jet engine?  One can dream.

Until then, however, does anyone have any info on the cheap ones like the $10 ones from Hobby Partz.  They show a set suitable for a 4.7Kg aircraft but only show mains.  Can these also be used for a steerable nose gear?  I know they have teh steerable kind gut they are

(I assume RC Jets also includes those cheap foamie EDF jets.)

Thanks,
Bob Burrill

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

It will not, it will shut down on any binding. It does this to prevent battery drain and shorting. These gear ar well thought out. I opted not together the built in sequencer or and any timing or delays. If you get the sequencer u can specify anything for your model.

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

And I bought a set of electric retracts from Mick Reeves in 1986. One difference between "back then" and the electric retracts coming on sale now is that this time they have electronics which sense the high current and stop the power, thus avoiding burning out the motor and shorting the battery. Then when you flip the switch the other way, they start work again. So for example if the leg bends a bit and the wheel won't go up inside the well, the retract senses that and just switches off, then when you select wheels down it starts again and comes down.

RE: Electric converted retracts
 

I have read alot of great comments about electric retracts on this forum regardless of manufacture. So I though some facts might be of help to any potential pilots that may be considering switching to or starting out with electric retracts.

1) Most any system that we convert to electric will weigh less than the pneumatic counterpart after conversion to electric.

2) Electric retracts can be operated from your receiver battery or a dedicated battery, if a user chooses to use a dedicated battery with the Down and Locked version it can be configured to serve as a battery redundancy system for the flight control system also.

3) Electric retracts are in most cases more powerful than the pneumatic cylinders at operating pressures of 120 PSI IE can lift higher weight strut/wheel combination's especially in designs such as the F-16 where the struts are being lifted against the advancing wind stream.

4) some of the systems including Down and Locked offer gear door sequencers either as a plug in option or in the case with Down and Locked built into the control module saving weight and considerable space within the airframe.

5) Most electric retract systems on the market today have a host of fail safe features built into the electronics that prevent unwanted retraction of the gear if the gear switch had been moved to the retracted position by accident upon switching power on.
Fail safes to prevent the binding of the gear and draining of your power supply battery as well as many other forms of protection.

6) Cost of electrics compared to pneumatics is in most cases equal to the pneumatics or less when you consider the support equipment required for pneumatics. IE air valves, Servos to drive the valves, Air pumps, Air lines, Reservoir tanks, and certainly when considering the cost of a damaged aircraft because the air system failed to operate.

7) Installation is much less complicated with electric retract systems over pneumatics.

8) With electric retracts you are guaranteed to never have an air leak. Sorry couldn't resist

9) Electric retracts are not new but the technology that they are controlled by is, which results in a very safe and dependable system.

10) They are many ways in which the systems are controlled such as, End coders, limit switches, Amp sensing, Timers, Etc.
At Down and Locked we use Amp sensing and timers in the event of failure within the amp sensor. The reason we choose this method is because the other methods are prone to damage caused by vibrations from the airframes.

There are many reasons to consider electrics and virtually none to suggest that air has benefits over electric. At Down and Locked we have developed a system that is extremely dependable and simple to use. They are no longer relegated to small airframes At Down and Locked we have converted the largest of airframes such as the CARF Corsair and Miester Scale P-40s Most all of the turbine jets and many other large type conversions so before you decide that air is satisfactory consider all the advantages of electric. Mitch Stott