ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

Let me start by saying, this is NO JOKE, SCAM or any other type of MISLEADING SOLICITATION.

I had a "hard landing" over the weekend, with my 1/6 scale Top Flite Corsair. Upon impact the wheels immediately toed-in and on it's nose it skidded! :mad:
Upon investigation, I realized that the gear had slipped inward on the rotating mechanism and bent the "scissor" arms.

I went to research the problem on RCU to see if anyone else had "faulty" gears. Well, needless to say, if you own the Robart 615s on your Corsair or P-40, you have experienced this "toe-in' problem.
If you have Century Jet Models retracts, you don't get this as much, but you have more of a nose-over tendency due to the fact that they only extend to 90 degrees.

So I did more research and found people trying to modify Hobbico retracts, or is if Spring Air made any retracts. Well, some have tried the Hoobico way and Spring Air doesn't make rotating retracts.

I did learn that Rhom Air had a good solution, but they are no longer in business, making them hard to come by and maintain.

I read one of the many posts on this subject where a fellow members had contact either Robart and CJM complained about the problems, but no satisfactory response was given to indicate that they'd change their ways.

Here's where I need your help!

I contacted Sierra Precision, mostly because every post I read about the company seemed to just end with rave reviews about how they do EXCEPTIONAL work.

Darrell was very much aware of the retract issues faced by other Robart & CJM retract users and knew he could make a better retract than what was currently available.

Here are the stipulations:

1) Darrell would have to be sure that he'd have at least 20 committed orders of the Sierra Precision Retracts in order to start a production run to fill these orders.

2) He estimated the cost for a pair of rotating retracts WITH Oleo Struts to be $250.

3) He would need a deposit of $100, (which would be refundable before production started, should the person change their mind) to assure him that he had a serious interest AND not be left with the costs to produce these retracts and not have buyers.

4) The retracts wouldn't be available until 2 months after Sierra Precision got the minimum 20 orders with deposits.

5) Specs:

1/2" diameter upper retract arm.
3/8" diameter inner oleo strut arm/
100 degree rotating retract
18 lbs. Maximum Weight Capacity!

Still interested? Then Read on......

That's it Boys and Girls. :D No catches, No B.S. just an offer for a quality product that will resolve the on going issues that other companies won't address.

He has set up a PayPal account specifcally for this production run. So if you're interested, please send your deposit to:

[email protected]

I would make mention of this posting and let Darrell know what it's for, just so he knows to apply it to the Custom retact project.

BTW, I want to make it known to all, I am in No Way employed by Sierra Precision, so this IS NOT a posting of commercial interest.

I am just making it known that if anyone else if as frustrated as I am with the current choices on the market for Robart 615s or CJMs, I have found a solution that needs 19 other participants willing to put their money where their mouth is.

Oh, one more note, the cost to replace each "scissor" arm is $6.50 each from Robart.

Century Jet Models retracts (without air system) approx: $180

Robart 615 retracts: $169.95
Robo Strut (650) : $44.95

So,.... ANY TAKERS!? ;)

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

Go with Sierra, you won;t be sorry.

Jeff
 

It was your opinion which inspired me to call Darrell this morning. He's a class act. And from what I've seen you fly, your opinion matters!

Any idea on how I could get this offer out to the guys on RC Warbirds?

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

Thx BigProp...I would send Paul Grubich an-e-mail. He would probably post a blurp about it. He is all for improving our warbirds. For those out there who may be curious, from Sierra (Darrell), I have ordered a pair of LARGE FW190 retracts, a pair of custom TBF Avenger retracts, and am discussing a pair of retracts for my 13 foot corsair. 2 friends of mine have purchased a set of Darrell's P-47 gear, as well as one buying a pair of TBF gear for his Avenger. All of these palnes are in the 50 pound range, and they do not bat an eye during landing. They are very nice gear, and very robust. Better than anything else out there. I have also discussed BigProps issue with Darrell, and he is all for making these gear, like bigprop said, he just needs to make it worth his time. I can't see anyone not being happy with Darrell's gear, no matter what size they are..

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

I'll shoot Paul an e-mail. Thanks for your support Jeff. :D

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

Does Sierra Precision have a web site?

Website
 

Yep, here it is:

http://www.sierraprecision.com/

You'll want to click on the "Click Here to go to The Sierra Giant Scale Retracts Page" Link to access the RC stuff.

Way to go
 

BigProp,
Great news. I too had emailed Darrell a few months ago. Seems like others have also been knocking on his door.

Do you know if they will drop in (Retrofit) into the same mounting footprint as the CJ or Robart?

Maybe Darrell can drop in and answer if the Moderators are kind.

Thanks, Pete

Modification
 

I did ask Darrell that question and he felt that the footprint would have to be a little bigger in order to accomodate his retract. It would stand to reason, as the stamped metal being used is much thinner than what Sierra Precision would use.
I will see if Darrell can chime in and give his .02 cents.

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

FYI...Darrell is the retract advisor on RCWarbirds.com. If you go to his link, I believe he discusses the 615 gear issue in one of his topics.

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

Tower is selling the 615's for $89.00 without the air kit. Does the $250 price include the air kit?

I would be interested in quite a few sets if the pricing was comparable.

Mike

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

IF HE MAKES THEM...THEY WILL COME...
At this point dropping another 250 on my corsair would probably not be justified, heck I might as well just sell it for 250 less than I might otherwise. Oh where was this thread when I needed it :) One question. Will the robart tank, valve, lines etc work with the sierra. There is almost no extra room length wise in my corsair because of the spar, how much different size wise might they be.

Robart 615's
 

As I understand it Robart doesn't include the oleo strut or the the air support system in the price you mentioned above. A quick check on Tower and you'll find that an all up cost is more like $219.00. This includes the 615's($89) 650 oleo ($38x2) and the complete air support system ($53)
Sierra's price includes the oleo strut so basically you'll have to add the air support. Worth the price in my view. I've been down the 615 road!!!!

Mark

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

I just sent $100 deposit. How many does that make? Are we close to 20? :D

Don

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

No nothing helpful. I did send a request for specs. when someone gets em, post em.

I would expect that the air support system for either CJ or Robart would work for any air based retract in this size. Why would it not? Pete

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

I would definatly be interested. Would these custom retracts be a standard available item once manufactured? And yeah, what is the count up too. :)

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

I have a set of Sierra Precision retracts and struts for my Mark Frankel Skyray. They are by far the best retracts I have ever seen. The mains retract forward and rotate 90 degrees using a very simple and, in my opinion, foolproof mechanism to accomplish the rotation.

More info
 

I gave Darrell a call to ask him about filling us in on the technical side of these retracts. He said that he had been reading the posts and suspects that the existing air system from Robart or CJM should work, as this is a smaller retract than the other set ups he sells.
I believe Darrell will be posting some stats as soon as he can. He will be keeping tabs on the number of orders received so we will know when the minimum is reached.
I would really hope to have a set of his retracts on my Corsair because it's not just the additional cost for the retracts that you have to consider, but what about the down time after a "hard landing"? Even if you have a spare set of "scissor" arms to replace, you still don't get to fuel her up and fly again, because you've got to replace the damaged parts. Isn't that worth something to offset a one time cost?
Just my 1.5 cents :p

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

I know Darrell and he is a class act who does class work. I know Bob Campbell and his 1/3 scale P-51 and the rest of his large fleet, all have his work. NICE STUFF!! He even designed gear for a 14' Corsair. This guy IS top shelf.

Corsair, P-40 Retracts
 

Hello from BigRetrats, aka Darrell Tenny of Sierra Giant Scale to everybody that is following this thread.

First off, I will respond to a few of the questions. The gear will work with other brands of retract valves, tanks, air line. And you may still even be able to use your struts if you already have some for the 615's. You would be responceable for adapting them to the new design though.

The new design will include the Upper Retracts and the Struts to fit either the TF Corsair or the TF P40. I will also look and any other planes that the 615 has been used in to see what struts would be needed for them also.

The price does not include the air valve, fill valve, lines, tee or any other air control equipment. Most modelers already have some brand x stuff that they want to use.

Weight will be comparable to a set of 615's with a set of 7/16"
struts attached.

As far as a drop in replacement for either the 615 or CJM's version, that is still in the design stage. If it fit exactly like them it
would have to look like them and we are back to the same thin
side plates, down locks, stamped out parts or plastic parts. You
can't expect toy gear to take the weight of today's planes.

I have looked at this problem in the past but could never get more than a few modelers to commit to a set of them. It is going to take a few month's and 100's of man hours to produce a set of retracts that will hold up to sport fliers. The deposit is to try to keep the cost down and see what type of interest in a replacement set there really is.

At this point, we are up to a total of (3) modelers that have sent the required deposit. We need at lease 20 to get things rolling.

You may also send any comments to the [email protected]
e-mail address and I will respond to them as I can.

Thanks for you time and interest.
Darrell Tenny
Sierra Giant Scale

Re: Corsair, P-40 Retracts
 

I'm in.

Come on people, get those deposits in...I would really like this to happen

Don

Four on the floor!
 

I'm in. Deposit sent!!!

Do I hear FIVE?!?!?!

Mark

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

uh, I guess I'm FIVE'S ALIVE not Four, uh, sorry . . .

Slooooow Responce
 

Hey guys, The thread has slipped away and the count
is only at 5 so far. If we can't get at least the 20 by the
middle of July, I will not be able to get started on them.

This is a design I would really love to work on but with
the low total cost, it's not worth it unless I can make
a large run of them. 20 was picked as an easy goal to
make sure their is at least some interest in a good
quality set. I dont' really need to make little gear, I was
just asked to look at it and see what I could do.

We know thier are at least 300 to 600 of these planes
built every year. Let your buddy's know about the idea
and see it they are interested.

Thanks,
Darrell
Sierra

ATTENTION: All Top Flite Corsair, P-40, ROBART 615 & CJM Retract Owners !PLEASE READ!
 

I vote Darrell for PRESIDENT!
:D

-Mustang51