RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Doug called me yesterday (Friday) to say my trike retro fit kit was shipping. They arrived this morning. After about 30 minuts the three actuators had replaced the air cylinders. No "adjusting" required. Operation is smooth as greased owl poop!

Jack

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Cool thanks guys. H9 hellcat with lados oh yeeeeaaaaa!

871

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Ok guys just spoke with Doug the other day , and he informs me that they have moved to a larger facility and that they have started to out source some if not most of there machining , in addition to there in house machining capabilities..... this I am told should speed up production and shipping lead times even more so then they are now , I asked about a set of 60-1 his web site and he both tell me they are in stock and should ship out in about two to three days , I also noticed on the web site a 50 dollar refund on your purchase if you order does not ship within 7 days , question is has anyone seen him make good on this promise ? none the less I can hope and pray with the rest of you I guess.......time will tell

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Does anyone know the differance between the rotating retracts that show "in stock and out of stock " I think the drops in for H9 are out and the ones for the Top Flight models are in stock ? Just wondering if that is the case , it would seem like a simple modifaction by the modeler to install the top mounted retracts shown in-stock ?
I have never had a drop in retracts anyway , so adding some blocks and rails would be easy

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

You know to install or rather reinstall in H9 corsair might be a good idea. If you look at the drawings of a corsair viewed in plan view, from above, when the gear is down, half the wheel is in front of the L.E.
On the h9 model that is not the case, and I suspect contributes to the number of slow speed nose overs that happen as the wheels centre of movment is to close to the G.O.G point.
Alistair

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

I dont get your comment , are you saying add rails so that you get a better forward angle ?
My question is what is the differance in the two retracts offered in the the lado set .
I have never had drops in , and I always add rails or reinforceing blocks

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

esentially yes thats what I am thinking ,or for a full revamp move the whole installation mounting point forward slightly, to add tapered rails to create a forward rake might cause a fully retracted problem in so much that the tyre might contact the bottom [ top, depending which way you look at it] of the wheel bay.
What the difference between the versions? I dont know ,I suspect mounting plate dimention, I dont think Doug would need to alter anything else in the retract.
it was your comment about fitting rails that brought the wheel position tback to mind, it is a thing i noticed long ago but never did anything about.
however I am in the middle of wing revamp so it might get included in the jobs.
Alistair

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

The difference is the ones in stock for Top Flite planes are Top Mounted. i.e. the mounting surface is almost flush with the bottom wing sheeting. The Hangar 9 retracts mounting surface is recessed into the wing.

If you look in the product descriptions it states that the ones in stock are for Top Flite and similar. The out of stock units state they are for Hangar 9.

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

I thought that is what top mounted meant , I amazed , I have ever added any gear to H9 , VQ without adding rails inside the wing and some top mounted , I just dont trust the typical rails in the arfs .
I may just pick up some "in stock lados ' yeppie

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Received my Lado 60-2T's today, very nice. I'm currently having a dilemma regarding their installation into the P40. It appears as though I'm going to have to cut the lower main spar for the retract to fit into the wing, as the housing where the motor and electronics on the retract are located won't fit inside the "landing gear box" on the P40. Has anyone used these on their P40 that has any photo's of their installation?

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Well alright, glad I didn't need medical advice you all would have let me die, kidding. Anyway, I figured since the landing gear pod is reinforced with lite ply, as well as the shear webbing on the rear of the lower spar directly behind it, I could cut a notch to allow the Lado's to clear. Since there is so much ply in that area, I didn't figure it would ultimately make any difference if the balsa spar had a small section removed given that the lite ply in that area would take the load and is tougher than a balsa spar anyway. Pictures worth a thousand words right?

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Man I feel bad for Doug. He's really taken a brow beating in some other threads over the past year regarding delays and missed ship dates. I waited 4 1/2 (shorter than some of you, I'm aware) months for my TF P-40 retracts to get here but after screwing with mechanicals and all the extra plumbing needed for pneumatics, as long as Doug is making his retracts available to us, I'll keep buying them, because the alternatives are a pain in the arse. I mean seriously...he started this little adventure in his spare time in his garage because he thought he had a good idea. That idea rapidly ballooned to a proportion he never expected, most balloons pop in that scenario folks. I believe Doug is doing the best he can and working as fast as he can while still delivering a quality product.

If you happen to read this Doug, many of us here support you and won't stick anything else in our .60 birds (at least I won't). I have a TF Spit and P-47 that will also get the Lado treatment when the time comes. Speaking of that I'll also be building an 84" ME109F this winter (17 to 20# range), what ever happened to the actuators for the 1/5th scale warhorses? I'm really dreading the pneumatic systems.

Now stop reading the internet and go back to work :D

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Hey Guys,

Any updated info out there??

Joe




www.thecaterhamproject.com

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Thr Syssa on-line store is open for business

http://www.syssaaircraft.com/

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Hey Joe - that's a pretty Caterham. What is funny you pampered that baby for month and put quilts on it - geez not one little scratch.





AND THEN you took that thing out, first chance you had snow water dirt all over:D:D:D I think it was worth it. Next year when I have my V8 in my 91 Miata then the Caterham don't show me their taillights anymore....have fun bud!

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Hi G-Pete,

Thanks for the kind words.

The Caterham that was in the mud and snow wasn't mine. When we went for that ride mine didn't have it's wings (fenders) on yet and was about a month and half from being licensed. The day after those pictures were taken I had my wings at the LineX place having the bottoms of them coated with a thin coat of that protective plastic stone chip stuff. I was surprised that Dave (the other Sevener) brought his out in the spring muck but I wasn't going to turn down the ride:D

Here's me driving mine in its natural habitat. http://kathryn-rapier.smugmug.com/ph..._WVjJK-L-1.jpg

The only dirt mine has ever seen is on the short access road to race tracks like Waterford Hills etc. The Seven you see in the muddy pics had its windshield broken, rear wing destroyed, and the rear live axle re aligned by a deer that ran into the side of it as he was going to the next to last US Gran Prix at Indy. I was in the stands during practice and got a call saying he needed a ride home. Luckily I had the Envoy and not the Seven. Dave's car is all repaired now but it took a good while since it's best to have to have the chassis work done at a shop that works on formula cars and know what their doing.

I will have my Seven out this weekend as I'm instructing for the Aston Martin guys at Gingerman Raceway. Talk about opposites...... Fun either way. Hmmmmmm.... Tail Lights...... Sounds like a challenge:D

:D:D Since you have 4 more cylinders:)...... I get to pick the track:):)

Zoooommmmmmmmm


Any news from Lado ?? Anyone else gotten theirs recently??

Joe

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Hi Guys,

I called Lado today and they said my retracts were shipping priority mail so they should be here first part of next week!!!

My P-40 work will be starting up again as soon as they arrive!!!

Yeaaaaa!!!!

Joe



Www.thecaterhamproject.com

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

"Man I feel bad for Doug"

if you really do then how about officially closing this thread . If you the love the gear ect and they work great , then just show them in your plane and how they work.
Do we need daily report on "mine shipped " " I got my number " "the postman delivered today"
lol , come on guys , enought drama unless your sitting out there with months of delay and still have not been shipped , I think enought is enought -if you really care about the guy .

Personally in this economy , I proude of a small american business that has thrived in a political climate that does not give the under 2million dollar small buseness any breaks at all . Small business makes up 80% of the USA employment in the USA and they get no breaks at all.

So if everyone is getting shipped that was on long holds , how about we move into how and what we are useing them in and call the update on daily shipping over lol

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Agree 100%!!

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

I second ! or is it third that motion ! LOL

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Forgive and forget is a nice sentiment - but - there are more than a few of us who want to know if Doug is going to keep his word this time or not.

This is the third "turning over a new leaf" that Doug has gone through that Im aware of. He did not keep his word befor and Id like to see if he will now.

I would like to order another set at some point - IF - he does keep this promise. I know of at least 2 others who dont post here who are waiting to see as well.

No reason you cant keep posting installs and success stories at the same time.

The good needs to be addressed certainly, but please dont gloss over or try to hide the rough spots.

Its not fair to the people who havent been following this saga over time. I was blind sided by the glowing reports. I dont want anyone else to be caught in the same situation.

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Okay, let me make sure I understand what you're saying. Doug got off to a very rough start. We won't go into all the reasons because we who have contributed to this since the beginning are painfully aware of them. Regardless of the fact that Doug has acquired a new facility, increased production capacity, switched to more reliable suppliers, done more than most retailers to make us customers happy, and seems to be reducing his backlog, you want to continue whining about the past.

It seems to me that you want to punish Lado so I ask, Who is being unfair to whom?

I have two sets of Lados. I waited over a year after I placed the order for the last set (May 2008 - July 2009. I wish I had received them sooner. I called him many times. I was frustrated. But he finally came through for me. I stuck with Doug while he was suffering through the growing pains as many of us did and it was worth it because we got an outstanding product at a fair price.

Lado seems to be up and running at full speed so why do you want to continue to punish him? If you're so ticked off at him, why don't you call him on the phone and tell him so, rather than spew your vitriol over this public site. You certainly aren't helping the man's business to recover.

Mike

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

Ok, first I said nothing about punishing Doug. Just dont burry the bad info and pretend it doesnt exist. You keep wanting to brush off all the guys Doug has wronged. Why? Its not fair to all the people who have bought from him and especially not fair to his potential future customers.

Why do you want to decieve them about the reality of the situation?

Secondly, I have no intention of calling Doug on the phone ever again. Why would I? He lied to me every single time I spoke to him on the phone. Every single time - without exception. I dont recall exactly but its got to be 7 or 8 times now. He also lied to me every single time I e-mailed him.

Every single time.

No exceptions.

I dont recall exactly how many times that was either - 7 or 8 maybe? He lied to me in this very forum on two separate occasions in that other thread.

His track record is pretty much 99.99% lies to .01% truth so why in the world would I trust him now? I want to see if he really is turning over that new leaf befor he gets another chance at my money.

Lets see if I can recall all the excuses he's posted about why he cant keep up with orders over the last 3 years and why he ships orders to some people in 2 weeks while others wait more than a year. I think he has been buying new lathes or other equipment at least twice. Then there were multiple supplier problems. Everything from plating to motors to electronics to gears to flue. I also think this is the second move IIRC.

If you guys would quit trying to brush off the guys who are getting screwed and pretending like there is nothing wrong - and - if Doug does actually keep his promises - then the complaints and bashing will stop all on their own. There will be nothing to complain about if there are only happy customers and if Doug does indeed tell the truth for a change.

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

As one of the many who waited months after paying up front, who never got phone call messages replied to, who never got reply emails, who eventually got the product [and it did not work out of the box] [they were in fairness replaced immediately] I firmly believe that the public has a right to be able to do research on the internet and find forum threads like this one which show the good, the bad and the ugly about products and the MFG.
No matter what the reasons or problems, there is no excuse for the total lack of communication that this company LADO has with its customers.
That is, I have felt, always been the biggest problem and hence the name of this thread.
I will also be the first to compliment the concept of the product, the first to complement the quality and workmanship and I believe the price is excellent.

For a specialist product, which this is, that is not mass produced, I shudder to think what the set up charges must have been, and I suspect the company balance sheet for the first years trading does not make pretty reading, but it is the lack of communication and the outright lies that to many of us have had to endure that have caused the problems, given rise to this thread, and others, and caused the owner to get a bad name.

It saddens and surprises me when, just because some one has a delivery, they suddenly defend all the foregoing complaints as being "teething problems"

I don't believe a single poster to this thread, with the notable exception of LADO themselves, have ever posted untrue statements and nothing , but nothing, will ever excuse any company whether it is a supplier or the mfg, of their duty to keep the customers informed with the truth about their orders and delivery dates.

Alistair [many posts to this and other threads as ADWB]

RE: Lado retracts, do the really exist?
 

I have been a supporter of Doug and have spoken to him on the phone and in person at the Toledo show years back when he was first developing his product. I think some of you are getting a little to stirred up over the situation. All indications at this time show that "Lado" is now able to keep up with production and is filling back orders. I don't think closing the thread is a good idea, if anything, it's a good thing to leave the tread up and let people see that in the beginning there were problems and as "Lado" evolved, sorted out it's problems and was able to offer a unique product for a "VERY SMALL" market. Don't think this guy is getting rich off of this product! I think some of you would be shocked at what it cost up front to develop the retracts.

In life we learn from the past, hoping never to repeat those mistakes. Lado has to options, the "past" and the "future." All indications point to the future!

When I see that Doug/Lado has the specific gear I want in stock, I will call them to verify they are on hand and ready to ship. I do this with all my small RC vendors, having experienced this problem in the past. LADO is not Tower Hobbies or Horizon! If you watch you'll see that Tower/Horizon have difficulty keeping inventory on hand, especially when it's on a cargo container floating in the Pacific Ocean!

Yes, there were problem in the past and all indications are that people have had their orders filled and if there was a problem, then a replacement was offered.

Remember it's what we're discussing here! A MODEL AIRPLANE! NO ONE DIED!

OK - BOYS FIRE AWAY AT ME!