show871

I kind of like the point of failure the wire creates.....Its alot easier to replace a wire stub for the retract strut interface than to having to redo a wing.....871

mtnbike101

Gee, thatseemslike aharsh rhetoric. I read the whole post and it didn't seem like anyone was attacked. Some folks voiced their opinion and said they wouldn't buy them unless...whereas others seemed eager to purchase. As for me, I found thethread very informative andjust wanted to confirm whether the product would fit my plane and how much effort it would take to convert the retracts if I chose to do so. Finally, I proposed posting a link to such a conversion for those who might consider the purchase (like myself). Your post would perhaps be more well received if you limited it to the last sentence.

ZERO-322

My Feedback: (2)

I will agree with Show871 minus the last sentence , personally I don't see the big deal with having to drill and tap the strut to accept a wire connector, and yes as very well pointed out I would also rather the wire fail then then it casing allot more damage to the wing or airframe which would translate to even more time fixing and repairing as upposed to flying, I would buy in a sec wire or not

w1nd6urfa

My Feedback: (4)

And if i were a manufacturer designing a new product, I would greatly appreciate ALL future customer opinions, ideas, aspects that influence their purchasing decisions, etc.

In other industries the designers have to pay to get this info, whereas this online community provides it for free.

Mr. Redman, i hope this will be reflected in the product's retail price

Nick

LDM

My Feedback: (15)

If you leave the emotions out of this and look at the facts and treat it like a business I think the answer is clear .
I have never seen a post on RCU with warbirds in the 90 and up size that a guy goes out of his way to have retracts without some sort of working strut .
I dont know what the final goal is of the rc modeler with retracts but from what I have seen and in my own opinion its about making the plane look and work in a more scale manner . I dont like making scale or semi scale additions structually that do not add funcional value . Now dont misunderstand with comments on interiors, pilots and details , I am talking about a functional working additions like retracts .

Sure its great to see the gear retract without a problem , and the plane become more streamlined in flight but its also about function when landing and then the scale look .
Remember , this is not a bash and I certainly apprecite Horisons efforts to fill a need as much as they will appreciate my money to fill there pockets .
I would think the demographics with retracts appeals to a modeler that is spending more then the avg guy on his plane . I would assume retracts are geared towards warbird guys first , sport second and pattern third . So with that assumption its makes sence that a strut option would sell .

While I certainly understand that the hobby industry has been hit by the economy lets not forget this is the same company is marketing a very good new Saito gas engine for over $500 . Are we not talking about the same target market ? The warbird pilot and sport pilot ?

RBean

I appreciate Horizon's efforts but I am disappointed that they will not be Robo Strut ready. I own a set of Lado's and they are great, except for the stupid wires. (rotators in a VQ P-40). Finally drilled them out to 3/16" and used JB Weld for them to hold. I have Spring Air and Robart Robo Ready retracts and they are great. For rotators now, I'm limited to CJs until something better comes along. I'm not saying I won't buy Horizon's gear, just that it will depend on how they do in the field and price and if they "must" use wire, at least 3/16" good quality steel and not soft steel 5/32" wire. Then I might consider them.

joey_snaproll

My Feedback: (32)

How about just make them all strut ready with a with insert so you can use a wire of your choice,if you want. if there a good product with choices,a few more bucks is okay. How much more would it have cost to make them a bit wider?But by the sounds of it the tooling is all done and and won't be changed,maybe need a return on investment before any changes are made. but keep letting them know ,squeaky wheel gets the grease.

thanks
Joe

bassmanh

My Feedback: (5)

john,

first thanks i am looking forward to getting a set of the new retracts for my mustang im about to start. secondly i must be in the minority as i dont have the extra cash for the struts and such so i fly them with what i can afford aspecialy in this economy.


NOW A BIT OFF TOPIC any more hints on what the new platinum serries plane is going to be ?



bass

C R Mudgeon

John,

Will these fit E-Flite's Duces Wild?

Rico

landeck

My Feedback: (1)

John, will the retracts fit the new H9 P51 40?

Bruce

lroybark

They will fit the dueces wild...I have seen pictures to prove it!

Oberst

All I know is I'll be ordering a few pairs. I like Electric Retracts, but Lado decided to go out of buisness when I needed the .60-.90 electric retracts the most. Horizon will do well to get these things out in the market ASAP, JMHO from a buisness man's point of view.[:@]

Pete

mike early

A fellow at the field asked me what retracts to put in his .40-sized P-51. I told him fly it on fixed gear until Horizon releases their larger electric retracts. I told them they'd be out in a month or so.

Sound about right?

0z0

What about electric retracts for a Spitfire H9 60? Are they available?

Stiknrudder

My Feedback: (3)

Look what's here on the web site...manual shows parts for 100 degree rotating mains also...

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=EFLG430

rgm762

My Feedback: (4)

thank you for finding that

ticketec

My Feedback: (2)

I'll chime in as part of the 10% crowd.

I can't think of any warbird in our warbirds group that has wire landing gear legs.... THey all have retracts. but i personnally don't see the point.

RE: 74 degree retracts... I wouldn't write off the Fw-190 crowd that quickly. there are HEAPS of people who make Fw-190's in all scales and I would have thought that it would be a viable market when the likes of Shin-din make specific replacement sets the various ARF's on the market.

Just my 2c

thanks

dave

mike early

Not sure if I understand your post, but yes I agree. Wire is unacceptable, even if it is on a retractable landing gear.

joey_snaproll

My Feedback: (32)

Why don't the retract companies just make the trunion in different degrees and interchange able with one retract unit. Why not make the unit wide enough to have a strut, or use a wire one ,just change it out to want you want. I think the stroke and slide is the same,just different angles in the trunion. With the CNC's these day's it shouldn't be to much of a problem. People these days love having options. My 2 Cents.

And I have 2 FW-190 kits that will get retracts when I get to building them.

Joe

Iron Dog

John,

I'm really looking forward to the trike sets coming available. I have a .40 sized composite P-39 that I make and will be ordering easily a couple sets for them, just as soon as I here they are available. Yes, I'd prefer oleo struts especially for all the abuse that a LONG, scale, P-39 nose strut is subjected to; but at this point, will take what I can get. Can't wait!

I know you don't want to overpromise, then underdeliver, but am really curious about ETAs. Last I checked the website a couple days ago, there is still no mention of anything other than the .20-sized. Any news you cansharewithus?

rgm762

My Feedback: (4)

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9650177

D.W. Schmidt

Nice video - thanks for the link!

I can't help but notice; John made no mention of the rotating version being released in late June with the rest. I hope they are not too far behind!

D.W.

bigtim

My Feedback: (13)

looking at the video they really snap up into position about as fast as air gear, at 150$ thats comparable to most other brands of air gear not too bad

Iron Dog

Great news! Thanks, Ray.

frets24

My Feedback: (15)

Ditto!!!

The two main suppliers in the USA of 120 size Fw-190's seem to stay back-ordered/sold out and it isn't because they are ordering small shipments at each restock. Also when a company as large as Kyosho or even smaller like VQ determines that there is a market for an airframe and commits to production they aren't doing it to please a few fanatics. The only reason these heavy hitters, and numerous others, are producing FW-190's and BF/ME-109s is to generate a LARGE profit by providing what the consumer wants to buy (and the consumer base for these is HUGE...don't doubt it). If you put out a 77-80* gear set you could easily capture both A/C with a single gearset.

As far as Wire vs Strut, I think I speak for many that feel strut ready is much more prefered than wire for warbirds in the 60-90 size and up.
It's not a matter of modifying or mounting the struts on a wire, that's the easy part. The part that gets old very quickly is having to bend the strut/wire combo forward after every landing, no matter how perfect, because that silly wire starts bending back due to A/C weight and ground roll friction. The result is the gear won't close (properly), or if they do...worse, they won't open 'cause they get stuck.

It seems you Pooh-Pooh a market that is far larger than you think it is. Maybe a demographics study or just a quick statistical analysis of just warbird posts on RCU would give you an idea of just how large a customer base you are ignoring. Especially the scale guys, Most of us have at LEAST two in the air(some a lot more) and several in the building que. I would say that most all would retro fit to electric gear and /or go electric with the new builds IF the gear truely met the need.

JMHO (Diatribe mode off......)