motor12

I was able to maiden my TF giant FW190 last Saturday. All was not well. The take off could have been better, the engine torque was more than expected. I will be on the rudder more next time to get her down the runway a bit straighter. Once in the air I was able to settle down and fly. The DLE55 was new with about 8 min. run time before maiden. The motor ran great no problems. I flew around about 5 min. and thought I would shoot a couple of approaches with gear down and some flaps to see how she would handle.Well it happened, the gear would not come down. I tried recycling many times with no luck. I had to land as I was now running low on fuel.My new FW was going to belly land in the grass and that sucks.I had one of my best landings ever,it settled in and slid a short distance. On the good side damage was very small, a prop and a few scratches on the belly.The gear was a Robart electric. I called Robart and after going over what may have been the problem it was discovered to be a bad actuator in one gear. They are replacing the actuator. Other than the gear problem, I love this warbird, it is fun to fly.

Asanders

Looks sweet, thanks for posting pics. Good to hear about your flight.

alanc

Glad it went well, shame Robart didnt pay for your prop, and possible bent crank,

aghost

My Feedback: (13)

Sure looks like a nice plane!

kram

My Feedback: (7)

Congratulations on a successful maiden!

One piece is always GOOD!

Yes, my experience with Fw-190's has been they're a little squirrely on take-off until you get used to just exactly how much rudder and throttle and elevator they need. Then you'll be able to do those long scale TO run-outs with tail in the air and wheels on the ground. I know the gopher-gods will punish me for that some day!

Key is not too much throttle. If this model is anything like the Fw's I've flown, it takes very little throttle to get the tail up and good airspeed and rarely over half-throttle for a smooth straight take off. Hammer it and you'll be wrestling rudder and taking off crooked left before you're ready

Sounds like the new electric retracts are susceptible to some of the same gremlins as the air versions

Why would an actuator fail on maiden? Surely your curiosity drove you to test it multiple times pre-flight.

Does failure of one actuator prevent both gear from dropping?

Let us know what you find out about that.

Good job on the landing. I doubt the crank is bent if you slowed the engine down

Flyfast1

My Feedback: (1)

Congrats on the Maiden! They can be stressful!

Did the plane pass a pre-flight check, including cycling the gear with the plane on a stand?

-Ed B.

motor12

thanks for the kind words. I cycled the gear many times during the build also on the stand just before maiden. I will say that there always was a strange glitch each time the gear cycled ,kinda hard to describe. I did discover the electric gear likes it's volts. I was using a 2s lipo regulated to 6 volts, when the actuator failed on one gear it would not extend also I had cycled the gear a couple of times before the flight and the voltage was not at peak. I talked to Robart and they said pump up the volts, so I now use a 2s lipo un regulated 7.4v and the gear with the good actuator extended just like it should. Bottom line the gear with the bad actuator did not affect the other gear, it just needed more voltage Robart says up to 9 volts.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Robart requires a separate control board correct ? I think they use Down and Locked /or wingspan drive systems .
The inherent problem with the set up is this set up does not have there own e-boards on the units themselves .
IN essence they would run continually without the separate e board. Its somewhat clumsy in the world of e-retracts but they are probably the most powerful in there peer group.
I know the Robart system has the most lifting power when comparing them to products like the ESM retracts and other commercial retracts in the category. However again you paying great money for Robart quality + actulators made by another company and then a separate control board . Complex as far as what is sold for the smaller self contained retracts in the 90 and under size planes , only time and R & D will tell how it turns out .

raptureboy

Sounds like the same problem the AMAhad when they did their review of this model. I am still not convinced that electrics are any more reliable than air. Why would they recommend that you use a certain voltage range and then later tell you you need more voltage than what they recommend? I bet if you burned them out they would have told you that you used too muchI had the same issue with wingspan and sent them back for a refund.

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

Its simple , they dont understand eletric, there doing there best to address a trend but getting the componants from a second party supplier .
There not turn key made 100% in house by Robart , there robart quality with outside eletronic parts .
Robart is a great company but small players in the epower market .
ESM /thru Troybuild and VQ is the only budget epowered retracts for larger planes .There retracts are self contained with no outter board needed . However I dont think the esm line now on 3.5 version is field proven and that is why you are now seeing 3.5 , because 1 , 2 , 3 all failed and needed tweeking , so now they are on 3.5 lol .
I have them for my esm Hellcat , they are nice for the money and easier to set up then air and cheaper as far as turn key and strut supplied retracts with no cutting , drilling ect . BUt they cant lift weight of a Neumatic nor the robart epowered retracts to date .
I have to say in the 90 and smaller , you can not beat eletric retracts , I am 4 years now and I wont go back and my cost are nothing compared to the same size in air powerd .
I have a brand called FMS made for the epo 1700 size Corsair rated at 11 to 12 lbs , useing them in fuel planes and epowered planes in the same weight , total cost $69 with struts lol and they work flawlessley !!!
Been flying a 60 P47 for two years with $35 pair (bad word warning ) Hobbyking retracts , there I said it , sorry but true $35 bucks for two and its two year in the field , triust me , I dont land that well

k3 valley flyer

My Feedback: (18)

I had same issue, using 2S lipo at 7.4 to improve speed. One of the actuators failed on second cycle on the bench, it would only work if you wiggled the lead going into the actuator, quality control seems lacking. They will replace it but will not have in stock for at least 2 more weeks. Seems Down & Locked having same issues as before they started suppling Robart. One should get a lot more after paying hundreds of dollars for a prodcut!

kmtranmd

My Feedback: (71)

seems that issues with locking in down position is recurring theme for electric retracts.
I've not seen reliability with them enough to put into my 50-80cc warbirds.

Tommy_Gun

If you plan to fly this plane on a regular basis you are going to find there is a need for some improvement.
I have attached a photo showing some heavier brackets I made from 1/8" aluminum. These brackets are much stronger
than the stock units. This prevents the actuators from distorting the brackets which keeps the jack screws from binding in the gear drive mechanism.
Go to the other thread in this forum about the top flite giant fw190 and you will see another mod I made to these retracts.

motor12

Thanks for the info, I will look at this. I do not want a second belly landing...