Does anyone know of a good brand of mechanical retracts for the Top Flite Corsair kit? Pneumatic is out of my budget so I'm trying to find a good pair of mechanical ones that will work just fine. I know they need to be rotating retracts since the gear retracts backwards, and I think the manual suggests 100 degree movement. Also, I've never used retracts before, so if you have any advice or comments about mechanical ones I would appreciate it. Thanks!
You may want to rethink this budget thing. The cost of mechanical retracts isn't just the retract units. On top of that you need a good retract servo and a battery to power it. And considering the bent wing your building you might find it easier to use two servos rather than fool with the linkage that would be involved to drive both gear off one servo. And a more complex linkage like that will require the best servo to reduce the risk. Plus, if the linkage isn't right, one leg comes down and the second.......Oops!
For my money, pneumatic is the hands down winner for any of the war birds or anything beyond the very simple and straight forward set up. The Corsair is anything but simple and straight forward.
Chuck
By the time you buy the retracts, servo, and larger battery, you'll spend just about as much as on a set of pneumatics.
Pneumatics are MUCH easier to set up, and with proper maintenance, just as reliable.
Check eBayt from time to time. Robart 615 retracts (recommended for this plane) show up fairly often at good prices. Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"
There are no mechanical retracts strong enough for an 8lb plane.
I used mechanical rotating retracts ONE TIME and will never do that again. It was on an older Top Flight P-40. They have big wheels and even retract servos had a hard time getting them down unless I just about stalled the plane. Even working in a flat wing the linkage was a pain in the a$$. In a bent wing model you will be tearing your hair out and bashing the plane around before you get it right.
Robart mechanicals are too sloppy.
Ya still gotta buy a servo to operate the air switch !
David
A standard JR servo may sell for $17.95. A JR retract servo may sell for $62.95. Point made.
Dr.1 Driver "There's a Hun in the sun!"
Any old cheap servo will do for that. You wou't need a $50 retract servo on each side.
One of my friends tried this on a BWB recently and after 3 or 4 months headache, he bailed. He even tried TWO retract servos (Hiteck's) and had one reversed. He could not get the geometry to work out. So when he bailed, he installed air.
-- Jim Branaum AMA 1428
Six_O'clock_High Target snipped-for-privacy@Guns.com
HS-75BB for $28.95 !
David
If you use Robart mechanicals, you will likely need two of those. I know, I used the Robarts once. Never again. Its air for me now.
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