Official FlightLine F4U-1A Corsair 1600mm (63") Wingspan

[f4u ausie]

Couple times in my case. A shakey retract was a bent jackscrew and no brakes in the case.
I ended up with lots of internal parts.
I ended up with an wire extension about 4 inches long which I could see .. so retract maintenance or replacement was just 4 screws and tuck remaining wire into the channel.
Not as neat as factory.. but I just wanted to fly it

[davegee]

Yeah, I kind of suspected that it was not a great thing, in my case, it's pretty violent. I have a brand new set with the bigger pins, so I'll just change out both and fly something else in the meantime. The Spitties are crying for flight time anyways. At some point, I'm going to work up a order list and include a second set of retracts as spares.
I've replace one all ready and it really is a PITA the way you have to run the wires. Usually, I tie a string on to the old wire, pull it through and then reattach the string to the new wire and pull it back, trouble is that the plug puts up a bit of a fight sometimes. In an old guy moment of brilliance, I thought, "Why not attach an extension wire to the plug and tape it together instead of a string?" Might be better.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Yeah, these airplanes give you pause trying to figure out how to fish wires through the wings to replace parts like retracts and the like.

Just curious, have you tried just pulling the retract out slightly just enough to get a good look at it from all sides to see if you can see a crack or damage? Sometimes you'll find the dreaded crack in the housing meaning you need to replace it. I use a bright light like a good flasshlight and some magnifying glasses to see if you can see any damage or cracks. But I would highly advise that you remove the retracts just enough (not pulling out any wires or anything), so you can inspect if you have a broken retract housing. That would be the Least I would do before you take it up again, stopping short of actually pulling and replacing the retract.

Cheers

Davegee

[Grossman56]

Yeah, I kind of suspected that it was not a great thing, in my case, it's pretty violent. I have a brand new set with the bigger pins, so I'll just change out both and fly something else in the meantime. The Spitties are crying for flight time anyways. At some point, I'm going to work up a order list and include a second set of retracts as spares.
I've replace one all ready and it really is a PITA the way you have to run the wires. Usually, I tie a string on to the old wire, pull it through and then reattach the string to the new wire and pull it back, trouble is that the plug puts up a bit of a fight sometimes. In an old guy moment of brilliance, I thought, "Why not attach an extension wire to the plug and tape it together instead of a string?" Might be better.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[davegee]

Went well Dave, had her out flying today and they stayed on!
Elbee says to increase the x and y settings on the slicer, slightly which is something we might want to try on the winter when I get another set of Robarts.
In the meantime, I have this issue, I think it may have been addressed before, when the gear is retracting or extending, they shudder, really rocks the airplane, not a very smooth retract/extend.
Was there a solution? I'll have to look back through the pages.
Meantime, if there are some outer rings that 'size' the wheels correctly to the Robarts, we could do that route as well with the new wheels.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Hi Dan: good on gluing the Elbee wheel covers. I flew mine this morning, and it looks like I just glued them on like you did. That was over 2 years ago and they are solid as heck. They seem to fit the OEM wheel pretty well, I don't think they need to be enlarged, but we could try an experiment this winter to enlarge the X and Y axes to see if we can tweak it some. The biggest thing I'd like to do for a winter project is to increase the size of the pilot in my Spittie, you too, if you want to. It's a subjective thing to do, but I thnk we'll know when it "looks about right." If you could send me the STL for the Spittie pilot, it would be easier for me to find. I have so much on my memory stick from so many projects, it would be tough to find it! I can get going sooner as I get time to start on an enlarged pilot for evaluation.

Got three beautiful flights on my Corsair this morning, one of the finest foamy prop aircraft I have ever had. Have had it for over 5 years now. Wish I would have started logging flights like I have some of my newer planes. But I would guess my Corsair has over 100 flights on it. Same for my Spittie which is about 8 years old now. I"ve flown it a ton. Am waiting for a replacement servo for the left aileron comes from MRC to see if I can get rid of that annoying shudder that the left aileron does on the ground.

Regarding the "shudder" you are experiencing on your Corsair. I have had the same thing for years, especially on retraction. I have seen the shudder when I damaged the retract housing and that was the source. But if you inspect the gear housing for cracks and there are none, I think you are ok, based on my experience over several years. I have to admit it bugs me, but once I check the gear retracts for cracks or damage and there is none, I feel I am good to go.

Cheers

Davegee

[Elbee]

Hugh Wiedman

Copy...Nailed it.

1) Never cross your crew's Chief (CMSgt-USAF).

2) Always bring adult beverages and/or snacks.

3) Remember you only have privilege to borrow the aircraft.

Respectfully, LB

[Hugh Wiedman]

Went well Dave, had her out flying today and they stayed on!
Elbee says to increase the x and y settings on the slicer, slightly which is something we might want to try on the winter when I get another set of Robarts.
In the meantime, I have this issue, I think it may have been addressed before, when the gear is retracting or extending, they shudder, really rocks the airplane, not a very smooth retract/extend.
Was there a solution? I'll have to look back through the pages.
Meantime, if there are some outer rings that 'size' the wheels correctly to the Robarts, we could do that route as well with the new wheels.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

I agree with Fast N Light , my limited experience with retracts that shudder is a sure sign of impending failure and usually as minimal as a bent worm screw. That's why my maintenance department carries several spare retracts for all my birds! Better to replace it before it goes out for good.

My Master Chief MO's normal stare at me after coming in for a landing, usually followed by him claiming "I've had it up to here with your total disregard for the well being of MY AIRCRAFT":

[f4u ausie]

Yehaaa no bad news is good news

[Aros]

Flew mine today. It’s been too long. Such a sweet bird. Nice break from my EDF jet mishaps as of late.

[Fast N Light]

In the meantime, I have this issue, I think it may have been addressed before, when the gear is retracting or extending, they shudder, really rocks the airplane, not a very smooth retract/extend.
Was there a solution?
Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Gear shudder on deploy/retraction for me has been caused by bent drive screws in the retracts. That's typically accompanied by cracked retract housings. When the cracks are large enough, the gear can collapse with minimal loading.

[Grossman56]

Went well Dave, had her out flying today and they stayed on!
Elbee says to increase the x and y settings on the slicer, slightly which is something we might want to try on the winter when I get another set of Robarts.
In the meantime, I have this issue, I think it may have been addressed before, when the gear is retracting or extending, they shudder, really rocks the airplane, not a very smooth retract/extend.
Was there a solution? I'll have to look back through the pages.
Meantime, if there are some outer rings that 'size' the wheels correctly to the Robarts, we could do that route as well with the new wheels.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[davegee]

Industrial strength Velcro my friend! And you can buy the velcro straps all at Wally World. If one isn't big enough, combine two.

I'm in the process of installing Elbee's wheel caps on her, they printed a bit small, but I used some Silicone sealer around the edges to form a seal, see how that works out.
They look amazing though!

Haven't got the outer piece glued on yet, have to mix up some paint and doctor up the inner piece first..
You know, it just occurred to me that you could 3D print one of those battery trays, hmmmm....

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Hi Dan: I didn't run the gear down on my Corsair to see what mine looks like, but I did put the two extra parts together that I have and will go on each of your outer wheel halves. The thin ring that goes on top of the part that you have the photograph of is a bit larger in diameter and I think should confom to the area around the tire when you attach it to the wheel. I'm pretty sure that's how mine is on my Corsair and I have had two years since it was installed with no problems at all in operations.

Let me know how it goes when you glue the outer rim on over the part you have already installed.

Cheers

Davegee

[Grossman56]

Thanks Elbee, I plan on doing another complete set for the spare L/G once I get the Robarts in. I ordered a complete retract/strut set with the larger pins, the plan being to fly this season with the original ones and change them over during the Winter, then I can modify the originals to the upgraded pin size, assuming they survive until then May need another set of bushings as well.
At the field last week:
Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[jetfool]

Dangerous,
All of Elbee"s 3-d parts were added to my Corsair and I believe this realism added to winning at Toledo.

[Elbee]

You can increase the diameter a smidge in the slicer. In this case in x and y only which means you'll want to turn off the z.

[Grossman56]

Industrial strength Velcro my friend! And you can buy the velcro straps all at Wally World. If one isn't big enough, combine two.

I'm in the process of installing Elbee's wheel caps on her, they printed a bit small, but I used some Silicone sealer around the edges to form a seal, see how that works out.
They look amazing though!

Haven't got the outer piece glued on yet, have to mix up some paint and doctor up the inner piece first..
You know, it just occurred to me that you could 3D print one of those battery trays, hmmmm....

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Aros]

Thanks Rex, I'll take a look, Todd, if you need any help, let me know, keep 'em flying!

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

Well I ended buying really thick poster board, glued two pieces together for extra strength, measured the area, cut it out, cut out the holes for the battery strap (turns out I didn't have a spare one of those either, sheesh I'm a mess, lol), ended up strapping a mini bungee cord in its place...It's a real crap show let me tell you!

[Grossman56]

Thanks Rex, I'll take a look, Todd, if you need any help, let me know, keep 'em flying!

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)

[Aros]

Thanks Grossman56, I appreciate that, however I did find some material and was just going to make my own. Thanks again!

[jetfool]

Dangerous Dan,
If I remember right Elbee designed, and I had the HS kids print them for me. Believe the STL file is in this forum somewhere. They are more scale than the Robarts.

Best Regards, Rex

[Grossman56]

Hey Aros, I don't have a spare, but if you want, I'll pull mine and get you the dimensions. I can trace it and send it to you as well if that will help. I know I had to do that with the Avanti, just measured and cut to make a new one.
Speaking of pieces you can't buy separately, does anyone have a spare Robart wheel cover? The spoked cap like i the picture??

One of mine departed the airplane, actually both did but I found one.
Anyway, I'll reimburse you if you have one you could part with.

Grossman56
(Dangerous Dan)