slembones

My Feedback: (1)

did you get the CJ retracts?

Tony Gag Jr.

My Feedback: (124)

Not yet. He had to custom make them so I assume it will take a few more weeks.

Loco3D

I am in the process of installing my retracts and I know that someone posted something about scale wheels. I looked at sierra http://belairkits.com/detail.asp?id=700
Do these wheels fit with the pins that Robart retracts come with or do they need drilling ?

Also these wheels are 5.25 inches which I assume they will fit but how STRONG are they, are the solid inside or do they cause unnecessary bouncing when landing ?

Also at £140 / pair I think its too expensive...any other cheaper alternatives that work great ?

Loco3D

Hi

I just installed my retracts and it seems that one of them travels lower than the other, that is approx. 0.5cm difference and don't know what to do...

Comparing the travel between them from the top is clear, also taken the wheels out ( thinking that one wheel could hit the wheel well making the actuator to stop ) same thing happens.

I could compensate for the gear cover by adding a piece of wood in between the gear and the cover to shift this up so when in closed position is not noticeable but it will not fix the problem from the gear itself..

Has anyone have this problem with Robart electric retracts ? - any ideas to fix this ?

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

Your mounts might be installed differently ...Look at them extended with each half of the wing the same angle (with a magnetic protractor or a good level) then look if each gear leg looks like it id the same angle to the wing or both are vertical. If the one gear leg looks like it is less erect then the flush one then shim your gear with a washer or a thin peice of Ply. What ever works. Else shim the gear door is probably the easiest. Good Luck have an awsome day.

p.s. did U put a straight edge on both gear doors the one on the left might be warped Mine are but with a TWIST so th rear is low. Can't see it at 120 MPH on a strafing run.

bladebender

My Feedback: (5)

Would like to see a set of century jet then will order a set have not heard anything good about robart

HoundDog

My Feedback: (49)

On second thought the gear doors look warped ... Place a straightedge on the wing directly over the axle hole and measure from the straight edge to the gear axle retainer part of the gear leg with a depth mike or the depth mike part of a good digital calipers. Set te the depth mike to the good one and see if the other has a gap between the end of the mike then see what the difference if there is one. If no difference in depth or very little it seems the gear doors are warped. Look at some good pictures of full scale doors they have a stamped liner that keeps the skin in the proper plane of reference. Still Have an awsome day.

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Both gear have mechanical stops., first take both gear back out and put the side by side.,see if there is a difference in angles out of the plane.
if not then look at her the mounts in the wing.

Loco3D

I have measured everything including the gear mounts in the wing : both sides are perfect, no discrepancies here.
One of the gear doors is is slightly twisted as HoundDog mentioned but this is fixable and doesn't cause the problem...

So putting them side by side It is clear that the problem is mechanical in the retracts, see pics below.

One of them doesn't extend as much as the other one or viceversa. This affects gear when down and up...

I guess I will have to take the cam blocks and compare between them, I reinforced both gears with a second cam block..

I can compensate this problem with the gear door as I mentioned in my previous post, so both of them look the same when gear is up but when gear is down having this difference would mean that one gear will open more than the other as the angle changes..and this is what worries me....

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

Looks like a rather large difference between the two gear. Can you call Mitch at D&L and ask him his opinion?
Maybe a mismatch between the cam blocks.... looks that way to me.

Loco3D

Hi BobH

Do you have his email address ?, What company is D&L ?

Thanks

Killer_Matt

My Feedback: (11)

A couple observations.

The gear assemblies do not look new, I see mismatched screws. Are these gear used?

Assuming these are used I'd suspect that the "TRUNION WELDMENT" has a bent pin.

The pin can be straightened, I've done it on my retracts. The pin gets bent during a ground loop or hard hit.
I used a steal rod and drilled a hole in the end that matched the pin diameter. I used this to straighten the pin. The most difficult part is knowing how much to bend the pin.

A good digital level can be used to compare the angle of the left and right Trunion Pins.

Good Luck
Matt

Loco3D

Hi

I bought these brand new from Robart. When I added second cam blocks to both gears I used different screws hence why they are mismatched. Pins are straight.

BobH

My Feedback: (2)

D%L is down and locked. They make the electric conversions for Robart.

Hot Rod Todd

My Feedback: (1)

It seems unlikely to me that the cam blocks are different, they're molded plastic. That would lead me to believe that it has to be the pins. A very small difference in the pin alignment on the trunions will cause the misalignment you see at the end of the strut. But then you mention that they appear to be the same when they are in the up position. That would mean the throw is different, in which case the cam blocks would not be the same. Not sure what's going on there.

I finally got some new twin pin trunions from Robart that they claim have hardened pins. They said that in testing the new pins are much harder and would break before they would bend. Since the forces are typically smooth that are put on the pins I would guess they will hold and something else would break before a pin would snap. I also added the second cam block on mine, so as long as the new pins hold up the gear should be fine.

I think it would be good if the gear had a bit more throw in the down direction. They might not look quite as scale, but it would take away some of the side forces if the gear legs didn't have so much angle on them.

Hopefully I'll see some good weather one of these days and I'll get to the field to test it out.

dasintex

My Feedback: (10)

Hot Rod Todd;

Does Robart sell the 'Twin Pin Trunions' to the general public, are they readily available?

Hot Rod Todd

My Feedback: (1)

All new trunions are twin pin, even the ones installed in the pneumatic gear. They did that so they wouldn't have two different part numbers to stock.

I'm not sure how many they have available. If you decide to order some I would recommend you talk to them and make sure you're getting the new hardened version.

Kirk RC

My Feedback: (4)

I finally solved the problem for good. The Robart just won't take the side loads, the hardened trunnions will work but only so long as the other parts will bend fail. It's just the geometry . I love Robart and in no way is this a slam. I just bought their P47 SNAFU with the new electric gear and have their gear in many birds. The fix is to go with Sierra gear and use the retract mount mods that Skyshark has available. The mounts are lazer cut and expertly designed by Mike at Skyshark. Go to RC Scale Builder and there is a thread on ARF mods that show in details how to do it. Took me a weekend to cut out old gear mounts and install the mods. Yes the Sierra gear ain't cheap but fits like a glove and will never fail regardless of how off center my landings are

Kirk RC

My Feedback: (4)

Also if anyone wants them I have my Roberts. Need a new trunnion on one side. The mount was bent but I put it back in alignment. The struts had the gear doors epoxied to them so they aren't new looking. If anyone want them $75 for both PM me.

Tony Gag Jr.

My Feedback: (124)

Has everyone used the elevator pushrod setup that TF recommends by soldering a clevis on the servo end? I am horrible at soldering so I was hoping for another alternative. Any ideas?

Lifer

My Feedback: (1)

Check out some videos on YouTube regarding soldering. It's a necessary if not vital skill for a hobbyist. A little practice goes a long way.

Tony Gag Jr.

My Feedback: (124)

Thanks. Maybe I was just using the wrong kind of solder or something. I will check out some videos and see if I can find different silver solder at home depot or lowes.

CCFPILOT

I have been jusing 50 50 rosen core solder on my TF Giant Scale models for years and have never had a problem. I'm sure silver solder would be better - if you get it right - but regular grade electronic solder is good enough for me.
CCF Pilot

steph69

I can't find any youtube videos regarding how to use silver solder i understand the basics but i have white powder with my silver solder and don't understand what to do do with it so some help would be great so would a video or write up be fantastic thanks guys

steph69

i have had my fw-190 4 over a year with full hitec servos dle61 electric robarts but i am worried about this white powder for the silver solder and as this is my truly first gs warbird i want it to be done correct, this is not my first large scale but is my most complicated so any help would be greatly appreciated i am desperate to get this beauty up in the air.