I've heard many shy away from retracts because their club uses grass runways. Are there some tricks to keep retracts in good shape on grass? Beef up the weak points? A better brand? Nose gear more of a problem - horizontal or vertical mount?

I'm hoping to use Spring-airs for a Dirty Birdy or U.F.O.

Grass shouldn’t cause any gear problems if the retracts are mounted securely and you make smooth landings. I prefer tri gear retracts for grass and tarmac for the best take off and landings. I have found that the vertical mount nose gear is a little easer to mount but I’ve used both types with excellent results. The spring airs-are a very good choice.