Stuart Z

Shaun Thanks for your input. Probably the same on mine. Not worth an autopsy. New servos on order. S

Thanks Chris. Point taken and I agree totally. It is a rudder servo that is oscillating rather than rotating. Probably OK to fly but I replace rather than put the plane or people at risk. I find it needs rudder to do good turns (drags it’s tail in turns) and of course it takes a beating on the ground. S

Thanks Colin. I was just looking at the Etronix versions. I’ll take a look at the Radient ones as well. My big concern now is getting any servo in with my XXL hands! S

Thanks Martin. I guessed that they may be similar but I noted that the Century ones had no spec given so was difficult to make a comparison Thanks again S

Hi Has anyone used alternative servos in their Riot? Century apparently out of stock so looking for alternatives. 17g as I understand but are they all the same? Look forward to hearing from you S

(Collects inside the machine)

I always use a twin filter mask when sanding and vacuum out generally after as the sawdust collects inside. Don’t like the noise of vacuum running all the time I’m working.

Works for me. The alternative is a lot dearer. I bought mine some years ago and is very useful when cutting out parts and cleaning back to cut line.

Thankfully- never had a problem but always checked pre-flight. Fortunately they were both easy landing aircraft and the strip was maintained well so no “hard” landings. Still have one set of retracts and still have the servos, who knows, one day! PS Still getting the pop up and equally annoying I’m getting logged out almost every time I try to read:respond to a page.

Somehow it didn’t seem so complex in times gone by. I had a Joker and a Calypso both on mechanical retracts (single bang/bang retract servo in each) running on a 500mah Nicad and got around 3 flights each. Never thought I might be close to disaster. All seemed fine.

Echo that- new Nimh packs every year two at the most, and write a date on them so you know how old they are. Same goes for TX pack. Small price to pay.

Leccyflyer Very good point and it does seem unnecessary if the Nimh will do the right voltage. The capacities available now seem to be more than adequate.

Still using Nimh as it suits the voltage of the receivers I use. Haven't got around to trying a UBEC between RX and Lipo. Seems another thing I don't need inside the fuselage.

I read in one of my books that the Stuka pilot was on the verge of blacking out at the point of recovery from the dive which is why they were a relatively easy target (apart from being slow and lumbering that is.) S

Same for me, annoying!

Beauty of this sport is you will need to keep building / assembling just in case, so you always have spares. In my first 6 months I think I rebuilt a Hi Boy 3 times, a Mascot several times then built a Super 60 which was eventually sold off to another beginner - all in 6 months. Doesn't bear thinking about now. But it does get better to the point you keep asking yourself "which year did I buy this". So much so I'm in the middle of building a model which I bought 40 years ago and part of the heap of kits I haven't had to assemble because I wasn't breaking enough. Storage is a challenge so I don't build one until I need it. S

I use small t-squares for ribs and formers and dumbbell weights (1kg) for holding down. No problems if you don’t drop them down. Used to use old drill nicads but los in house move.

Following my earlier post I moved to R/C in the early 80’s or late 70’s with a DB Mascot. A brilliant model on 3 channels. I built a S60 as well and that was a real confidence builder before the days of buddy boxes. Moved on to a Hi- Boy after that and learnt about heavier models and 4 channels. Always liked to build from kits rather than pre-built.

Nigel Looking great! S

Same model I started with but I got some more rubber and achieved ROG when it promptly got to half length as the rubber overwhelmed the balsa. Great fun though.

Spoilers might be helpful for landing approaches. Not a conventional use, usually flaps for this. Not used them but I found pattern models to be very slippery fish. S

3001s were better and available until recent times. Steve Webb lists the updated digital versions. Depends what you want to spend. Ball is in your court on that. I’m using 3001s in a new Joker and Hitec 77BBs in the wings, the combo will fly better than I can pilot it. S

I bought some 3003 servos seller that were not genuine. Make sure you don’t make the same mistake. They wouldn’t centre at all well. Go to a Futaba dealer if you are buying Futaba (or for that matter any other make) and I would recommend Steve Webb. His web site is a brilliant place to hunt out what you want S

I had a Joker which is probably slightly younger but I used 128 servos I think, certainly nothing complex. Wing servos were I believe also standard, taking care to not cut right through the wing. (Used a calliper to assess how much I could cut in) Cutting through the foam was a slow process involving a wood drill bit glued and taped on a dowel. Frequently clearing the hole. Finished with wing servos with servo leads through the foam. ( Nowadays some firms bore the foam for you, not so in those days.) S

Hi If of the self adhesive type, best to put them through soapy water to help them slide into position. Don’t drown or soak them. A simple pass through soapy water is enough. S