Nick Stock 2

Just to add a flavour of context here - this particular ‘ARTF’ model has consumed a mere 100-150 hours of my time thus far.. At what point does love of one’s hobby become a serious diagnosis? 😬

Well I’m glad my conundrum is getting such appreciated attention 🙂 OK - so once I’d got the new servos in and had checked the radio was able to let me achieve a solid mechanical lock at both ends with a fair scope for fine tuning, I did then experiment by reducing the endpoints in the radio to find the minimum travel whereby I was still achieving this and then added a bit more as a margin - but as you say Brian it surprised and disappointed me too slightly. In fairness I may have been a bit hasty here and perhaps spending more time and finessing I could reduce the end points a tad more whilst achieving the same robustness. The buzz will still be similarly prominent as I found with the tinkering that I did do. I think I’m probably pretty much though and trust the settings I have arrived at. I could have made a career out of the exercise if I wanted to experiment with longer arms on the servo and less extreme end points but my hunch in any case was that the pushrod has limited play in the directions other than that to operate the gear and was therefore likely to cause a new problem and drive me completely over the edge.. The configuration and robust operation of the mechanical units in this case are just requiring the servos to do a bit of extra work to take up any slack in the pushrods so that they stay firmly pinned to their extremities given the geometry I’m basically limited to. Either way, bothering to run the 30minute timed experiment to me is evidence that my setup is doing very well to combat the risks involved. Nigel thanks too - useful as a reference to have a fancy graph especially with some explanation! The only thing not ideal here is that the servos are working hardest in their default positions (gear fully up and fully down) which is how they naturally will be spending the vast majority of the time, only getting a rest midway through the action. In an ideal world this would be the converse.

0.8A combined. End points through the radio are near the max as the radio allows in either direction. Can’t say if it’s 180 degrees but probably not far off. Interesting take and thanks - I still stand by my theory that the motors aren’t getting up to revs so current rockets in order to fight the then relatively higher physical load - beyond the servos capability given the added length of time they were being asked to perform at this level for.

Thanks chaps. Update here: I can only speak for my setup but as someone who very rarely makes definitive comments - I am 100% of the opinion that servo slow was responsible for the burnout. This radio feature if really cranked up is basically massively restricting the servo motor from spooling up to its normal rpm whist at the same time drawing more current in order to maintain its positioning. This caused a stall in my case and poof. I had the slow setting at ‘27’ on that channel which in practise had the effect of slowing the travel time from either end point to roughly 4 seconds. I took the view the next thing to try was to put heavier duty servos in and bought a pair of MacGreggor 20KG HV digital servos. I also felt that powering these servos would be safer to do from a dedicated battery and I had a 1600mah 2 cell life battery to hand that I hoped would be suitable. At 6V these servos are rated around 17KG - way more than before. I reduced the servo slow setting somewhat and after I carefully readjusted the end points, in order to apply sufficient pressure on the retract pushrods at either end so that the mechanical locks were robustly engaged, in these positions there was still a pretty hefty buzz. I put a multimeter in the circuit and measured the peak draw momentarily hit about 1.5A with the lowest draw being mid way through the servo travel at around 0.2A. The end points with the hefty buzzing held at around 0.8A even with me giving each retract a bloody good shake around to check the load which was unaffected - proving the system was working as intended. I decided the final test needed to be a timed control test and did as follows: Fully charge life battery. Set a timer on my phone for 30mins. Switch on model and start timer. Every 3 minutes flicked the switch to cycle the landing gear in the other direction. Monitor servo temperature by touching occasionally. Same for battery. I did this and there were no issues whatsoever. I then put the battery back on charge and the charger put 267mah back in to the pack to my delight. I do have a 1000mah life but the weight is negligible considering I’ve already got a kilo in the nose. Im satisfied now so in my books, job done. Lesson: careful with the servo slow function and test test test.

If anyone has a definitive answer to this I’ll be surprised and pleased.. I have been testing my newly installed mechanical retracts in a new model. I have chosen Savox servos, one for each wing/retract. Savox SC-0252MG+ Standard Digital Servo With Soft Start 0.19s/[email protected] SC0252MGP On my Futaba 14sg, I have had to set the end points right the way up and down to get the throws I need for each retract to lock in their up and in their down positions. The issue is this - I used the transmitters servo slow feature to attempt to make the deployment action look more scale. Bearing in mind these are servos rated to 10.5KG, there was minor if not negligible binding with the nacelle cutouts (model is a mosquito). On the side that I had programmed the servo slow speed to be greater (for scale asymmetric appearance) the servo stalled and burned out - a very hairy and Smokey moment! On testing the remaining working side, when I dialled back the slow effect, the motion was much much smoother. My suspicion is that the servo slow feature is having an effect of reducing the torque somehow of the servo. Has anybody experienced anything similar or can a specialist opinion be offered as to any resultant hindrance to servo performance - and some theory as to why my servo burned out?

Engine is an ASP .91. Just Engines only have new parts for £50+ and hoping to be saved by a kind fellow modeller..

Thanks all so much for taking time to reply. I now know that it is pretty much as difficult to achieve as I felt! Saying that, each reply had been delightful to read and highlights practical options for me to consider which answers the post greatly. Best

Hello forum, going to shoot this one out here - I’d like to think it’s been answered before so lots of valuable input hoped for and appreciated: I can fly IC warbirds to a somewhat decent standard. A decent understanding of rudder use in directing my aircraft as intended as an example. Don’t consider myself an expert hence my post though I am looking to hone my core skills. I am seeking to become more aware of the names and types of manoeuvres so that I can better plan my circuits. I am asking for suggestions for a sequence for a display of scale aerobatics and any accompanying flying tips that assist good flying practise. This with properly prepared flights in kind as opposed to do what I feel in the moment for a bit of a change from what I’ve become accustomed to. P47, Spitfire, Mosquito .100 fs glow, 180 fs glow and 2 x .82 fs are top of my fleet for reference. many thanks

I’m fitting a Laser 180 in place of an Evolution 33cc gas in a Hangar 9 Spitfire. I presumed I’d be able to reuse the engine mount that the evo was bolted to. The mount is made of aluminium and features a long slot in each beam which 4 non-metric bolts were fastened through. On closer inspection, I am surprised a slot system isn’t risky over the usual holes we normally drill through grp/nylon mounts where there is material front and back of the screws. Furthermore, aligning the Laser 180 to this mount creates an overlap between the slot channel and the engine crank bolt holes. I can only fit four M4 screws as opposed to M5s that I was aiming to use. These will be fastened with nyloc nuts and washers. Do we think this is acceptable or any risk of the engine shifting loose?

Thanks for all input above. Got to admit, I’ve never seen breaking bad but I feel I don’t have to after this madness.. I bought some antifreeze variant hoping it would do the trick but truth be told after 45 minutes freezing my nads off(!) I really wasn’t having much joy. I think repeated soaks in semi-sizzling antifreeze and vigorous rubbing with a soft scrubber might have helped in the end but only a little. Anyone have a clue why? so I resorted to using a mild abrasive block - a turquoisey/greenish one that normally comes as a rotary tool attachment accessory and buffing after. needless to say, it’s not a perfect finish as new but passable imo. have chosen an 18% klotz synthetic mix fuel 15% nitro to try and avoid this situation next time FYI sink unblocker is the WORST thing to go near these alloys from this experience as I have a few dulled areas as a result but minor changes enough

Thanks for the tips

Hi folks just needed to post my question which is relevant here. I’ve tried all sorts of household cleaning products, rubbing alcohol, a particular penetrating form of wd40, hell, even drain unblocker as a mad last resort. Bought an ultrasonic cleaner and repeated the above and concoctions in it but to absolutely no avail. I’m trying to clean or dissolve really the caked on tar like substance which I believe to be burnt castor oil(?) off my Saito silencer. can anyone help guide me? tx

Seagull happen to list J.Perkins according to that link, so thank you.

Thanks - who are these wholesalers? Are they familiar names?

Do manufacturers of ARTF kits tend to supply direct to our retailers or are there distributors or even wholesalers too working in the background? For example, are Seagull, Blackhorse, Kyosho, Hangar 9. I can see that Freewing for example passively mention on their website that they offer discounts for wholesale purchase but other manufacturers seem to refrain from advertising this option.. Any idea in particular, how best to go about buying seagull models in bulk? Thanks in advance if anyone sees and can help.