retractable gears and doors

[ioannis 133]

hello there,need help to find the proper retracts and doors for Phantom F4 unfortunatly plan does not specify what is the proper size or model,build from balsa and plywood,overall lenght 62 1/2" wing span 44 1/4"
thanks a lot

[Alpha]

Hi Ioannis, welcome to Hobby Squawk! Would you please be more specific about your model, so we can help you out with more accurate information? Which kit are you building, or is it one of your own? If it is a known kit on the market, perhaps there's information available as to which retract sizes and strut lengths are best suited for an model of that size and projected finished weight.

[ioannis 133]

thanks for your respond,my model is from RC modeler magazine plan #1076 (if I am not mistaken,i am not home right now)weight is about 2kilos? wing span is 44 1/4 and overall lengt is 62 1/2" semi scale,I use a 90 mad trust EDF..hope this is enough,otherwise when I return home I will give you more details.by the way the magazine is Nov. 1997,sorry I couldn't be any more help.
regards ioannis133

[jons800]

loannis133
I hope you got the information you were looking for; sorry I can’t help but I do also have a retract issue.

I’m purchasing a Dynam Grand Cruiser from Motion and there are quite a few stories about the stock retracts failing to drop down for landings. Can anyone one suggest drop in retracts that fit from a vendor that has a better proven track record for reliability.

regards, john

[Roddraym]

Hi John,
I have four Dynam Grand Cruisers (3 of which I've customized) and all of the retracts are disconnected from the RX due to the issues you've read about. It's true. They're unreliable. I really like the air frame thus my reason for purchasing so many. The other components on the plane are okay. But unlike FMS, I've determined that this brand requires a little more TLC. My attention was drawn from these planes to an old large scale Cessna 421 that had a very weak landing support system, too. So, I decided to try a set of heavy duty retracts which I purchased on eBay - Heavy Duty Nose & Main Servoless Electric Retract Up To 5kg - and I added a 10A UBEC. This was needed to provide sufficient power to the retracts. They have metal gears and the nose has a metal trunnion. I added a set of Oleo aluminum struts which are really nice too. Since this was a successful mod, I've decided to upgrade one of the DGC's retracts with a similar setup, but lighter and it will also include a new UBEC. I haven't purchased the parts yet. But it will be my next mod for my latest customized DGC. If you look up the RC Group member, CaptMoMo, under Dynam Grand Cruiser, he made similar mods to his DGC and they look really good.
Regards,

[jons800]

Roddraym
Nice craftsmanship on installing those retracts. I also think the paint scheme you got going on here are really sharp too.
I love the Grand Cruiser (Cessna 310) people at the airfield always take a second look at this retro streamlined ship. It’s easy to fly and land with the optional flaps and looks great in the sky.
This plane was made famous back in the day” with the Sky King TV series which featured the Cessna 310 (aka Grand Cruiser) with tip fuel tanks.
By the way the eflite EFLG1590M 15 size 90 degree main retracts are a drop in that has been working fine for me $26 bucks

Happy summer flying

[Roddraym]

Roddraym
Nice craftsmanship on installing those retracts. I also think the paint scheme you got going on here are really sharp too.
I love the Grand Cruiser (Cessna 310) people at the airfield always take a second look at this retro streamlined ship. It’s easy to fly and land with the optional flaps and looks great in the sky.
This plane was made famous back in the day” with the Sky King TV series which featured the Cessna 310 (aka Grand Cruiser) with tip fuel tanks.
By the way the eflite EFLG1590M 15 size 90 degree main retracts are a drop in that has been working fine for me $26 bucks

Happy summer flying

Jons800,

Nearly a year late (April 25, 2017), but thank you very much for your compliment on my planes and also your insight regarding the retracts! I hope your summer 2017 was a good one and 2018 is up to a rocking-good-start! I'm still enjoying my Cessna 310s. I've since acquired a couple of Cessna 421s which are discontinued. I really like the civil planes but warbirds are King at this time.

Thanks again and sorry for the late reply back!

[Skyboom]

Instead of starting a new topic I'll chime in here. Despite the cold weather I took the Durafly Vampire up today at our flying field. Put a new 3200mAh, 4 cell lipo in it ,and after checking everything, put full power to her. Was almost lifting off and at the last second, plowed her nose down into the grass. The nose gear totally ripped right off. The wire was still attached. When I got her back on the picnic table, it wouldn't retract. The rear ones retracted fine. When I got home I took the nose retract apart. Everything looks ok inside. Put it back together and it still won't retract. The gears are so small it's hard to tell if there stripped. But they look ok. They all turn ok.I took it back apart. Maybe I'm missing something here. Maybe somebody knows something, on why they won't retract. They're the servoless type. I'll try some more tests tomorrow. Hopefully it can be repaired. Thanks, Nick. (Ok I watched some video on retract. One of the micro switches got jammed, Probably from impacting the ground bumps.) BTW. Have to reinforce retract platform. Some long screws through the wood and deep into the foam should suffice.

[Skyboom]

New gear going onboard. I'll paint er up and video this weekend, if its nice.