jmorgan

My Feedback: (18)

hey fellas,
quick question for the warbird gurus-
i have model tech's p-47 thunderbolt arf and am very impressed, except for the retracts. i hear this is a common problem for all arfs that include retracts. but, i was so impressed with the way the kit was built, and how well it flew, that i decided to take all the flaking ultracote off and cover it in a new scheme with monokote. now the plane is olive drab and dove gray, and looks very scale, except for the wobbily retracts that sometimes dont work properly. my question is - is there any possible solution?
thanks

ProfLooney

My advice is to get rid of them retracts and get new ones. I would suggest Sierra precisions http://www.sierraprecision.com/prod06.html they do excellent work. you could also try robart to see if they have some or if you want to you could save some money and go with mechanicals. it all depends on what you want to spend on your plane and how long you plan on keeping it before moving up in size and quality or on to a different plane. you can always use the retracts on a new scratch built plane of the same size so is a good investment now to save you later.

Joe

ramcfarland

My Feedback: (44)

Go with a set of Springair HD-103
They are absolutely reliable with internal spring actuation on gear down and single air line for retracted position Check out my P-47 in the fighter gallery . Check around and I think you will find springair are both value and quality and no I don't work for Springair just enthused with the total reliability.........

Fast Richard

ProfLooney

I admit they are reliable I had a set once the big problem I had with them is getting scale speeds out of the retracts. they go up fast and slapped down and you could notice the movement of the plane as they slapped down. eventually i had problems with them loosening on the mounts. Although it is a nice idea to have them able to come down there are also problems with them ie structural stress and unable to get scale retract extend speeds out of them. A good set of mechanicals will do the same as long as your servo doesnt go bad.

Joe

Fili

does springair have a website?

Maiden Voyage

Fili - www.retracts.com

Proflooney - Did you try a variable rate control valve?

nchrome

On your spring air retracts just put a set of Robart air restrictors on the lines this will slow down the gear and still have the failsafe is you loose airpressure. I used a set on my B-17 and the work just fine for me and don't have to worry about the gear slapping up or down. Just my $0.02 worth.

ProfLooney

I did eventualy put some restrictors in the lines but I didnt care for them that well as you couldnt control the speed and couldnt get the scale look of one retract starting to retract befor the other. I just sticking with sierra pneumatics I have never had a gear failure with pneumatics so I dont worry. If you take care of your retracts and do regular maintenence and replace your airlines every couple years you shouldnt have a problem. I found most people i have talked to that had failures had the same airlines in there for 5 or 6 years and they didnt maintain their gear at all they just filled the tanks and flew then stored their planes when done and repeated. you have to ocasionally oil them and good thing to put a couple drops in the cylinders once in a while and i always cleaned my gear off and oiled my pivot points after im done for the weekend. Anything will last and give trouble free usage if it is maintained properly.

Joe

ho2zoo

My Feedback: (5)

I have Spring-Air retracts in my Spitfire and I love them! Here's what I did to slow them down. Put a piece of plastic tube over the air line, then put an ordinary wheel collar over the plastic tube. Then screw down the set screw until it pinches the line. You can adjust it for whatever speed you want. Been in there for years; works great!

rc34074

My Feedback: (5)

i would get either the spring air 700 series retracts, the robart 500 series, or the sierra retracts. depends on how close to scale you want them to be. the robarts are heavier but are easier to make them retract at controoled speeds. the spring air are light and reliable and can take oleo struts - you can get the oleos either from robart or from likes line, and probably others make them too. the sierra retracts are awesome retracts.

the 600 series robarts are weak and while if you land carefully they work ok, the frames break easily. they are fairly light.

ed

MIC

I also have modeltech's P-47. I didn't even stop to look at their retracts. I went with Robarts this time, if I had to do again I would go with Spring Air. Only because of the fail safe deployment option.

By the way, I would suggest the you double all the mounting and structual support you can before installing the gear. I didn't feel comfortable unless I did. It was ok for their mechanical retracts but I felt there wasn't enough wood stock to support a quality retact.

WarpdSpazm

This may be an oxymoron of a question but can anyone recommend a good set of mechanical retracts to replace the factory ones? Personally I can't see putting $175 worth of air into a 200 frame. Maybe if I scratched it, but not an ARF... at least on my budget.

I have the joy and honor of flying off a non-level grass field. I was also thinking of adding Flaps to help keep the landings light. Any words of wisdom on these two points?
Thanks in advance

Fili

I have a set of Dave Brown mechs in my Great Planes .40 size P51. This plane is my old buddy going on it's sixth season. I had one linkage problem on the second flight. I made some adjustments, and havent had a problem since. Best set of mechanical retracts I ever bought!