2016 sensible servo for foamie gliders

[Bruce Austin]

Hi their foamie glider guys, I fly phoenix 2000 and 1600 because they are cheap and fly nice and casual. I'm a pensioner with limited budget and relatively new (three years) to this hobby.

I am by now getting a reasonable feel of flying and frequently getting an hour or more flying with 3 minutes of throttle bursts. You get the picture.

I am using standard HK MG servos in the cheaper range, and find that "centering" is not that accurate.

Let's face it I am using the cheaper end of foamies in kits costing say 60 quid, so there seems little point (or maybe there is?????) in spending the same amount on super precision servos.

So now to the question(s).

I could well decide to put together another Phoenix 2000.

I have just "upgraded" from a Futaba T6J to a Taranis Plus with the intention of setting up some more refinements and options in flying modes, than were previously available to me.

What are the pros and cons of digital or analogue servos for my Phoenix.

What are good value lower cost servos that would suit this model???

I'd really like to read the thoughts of others.

Feel free Mr Moderator to bump this to wherever you reckon is a more appropriate thread. ( some are quite old and I'm looking for 2016 technology and proven reliability)

Go With the Flow

Bruce

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[MattyB]

Cheap digitals are not necessarily more precise, but they should have better holding power. However on a floppy foamie that flies pretty slowly that's not really too useful. If you want better precision some better quality analogues will be fine - Hitec HS65 Karbonites are good, as are the 85MGs. Avoid the 82s though, they are plain bearing and tend to wear themselves to a double centre with use.

Ps - If you can afford it you might want to consider a Mpx Heron or Solius instead; they have a great reputation and definitely better soaring performance than the P2000.

Edited By MattyB on 27/07/2016 21:53:49

[Former Member]

[This posting has been removed]

[Simon Chaddock]

Bruce

Like you I find it silly to pay serious money for servos on a cheap air frame.

Are you sure your lack of centring precision is not due to stiffness in the linkages?

Obviously a better servo may handle such resistance a bit better but I have found cheap (and small) servos entirely adequate over quite long periods (years) of use but then I do use very free moving control surface hinges and short direct linkages.

[Geoff S]

I should look at the ones sold by Airtek. They're reasonably priced and the ones I've bought seem to centre very well and they have metal gears. I've never bothered with digital servos so I can't comment except I've never found a problem with ordinary servos that they might solve. I certainly can't see they'd be any real improvement for a Phoenix 2k. Mine flies well with the HK supplied ones.

btw no connection with Airtek (advertised on this page) except as a satisfied customer.

Geoff

[Roger Mason 1]

Hi Bruce. If you can still get them try Hitec the HS-55. I believe they are being phased out but could still available. I got my last lot from Al's Hobbies. I don't recommend the budget HS-53. The HS-65HB is an alternative but a little more expensive.
Roger from NZ

[Bruce Austin]

Gee thank you guys for these prompt and informative responses.

In selecting servos, my main criteria are:

1 Able to withstand the knocks from the occasional rough landing, and rough handling when taking the planes into, or out of the car. I have found that the plastic geared servos were a wee bit delicate!!!! hence I already use metal geared ones.

2 Should give reasonably good centering.

3 Shouldn't be overly expensive in relation to the over all cost of the model itself.

Regarding choice of glider models, I must say, that so far I am very, very pleased with the HK Phoenix models for their costs, and for their behaviour, once I have replaced the main wing spars with Carbon fibre, and converted to one piece, with clear tape, tip to tip. Two meters fits nicely into my car without removing the wing and the fuse length, just fits with the gliders on their nose. The props are kept safe with the nose in a plastic yoghurt cup!

But it's fair to say that I might well look at a more Thermal efficient model in the future.

My first move is to get comfortable with my new Taranis Plus and the different flying modes, to try to further enhance the performance of my existing Phoenix(s), and hone my own flying skills.

I was just curious if there was a significant performance difference between the digital and analogue servos. I get the perception from your responses that the technology won't make much difference to my foamies.

Go With the flow

Bruce

[Peter Miller]

I use Hitec 311s or similar but if you are looking for smaller servos than that I swear by Turnigy 9 gram metal geared servos. I use them on scale model up to .52 four stroke power, one ber aileron and one per flap.

I have used them all round on my 40 FS powered Slingsby Motor Tutor, never had a problem with them

[Bruce Austin]

Yes Peter,

These Turnigy 9gms are what I generally use, and mostly they work fine for me. I get the occasional dud but at the price, I am just philosophical about it.

Go With the Flow

Bruce

[Bruce Austin]

Yes Peter,

These Turnigy 9gms are what I generally use, and mostly they work fine for me. I get the occasional dud but at the price, I am just philosophical about it.

Go With the Flow

Bruce

[Andy48]

I tend to use EMAX ES08MA servos (ebay). These weigh 11g and have metal gears. At around £3.50 each they are good value, and no problem at all with accurate centring. Have tried a set or two of the same servos but digital, I didn't notice much difference either way. never had a problem with these servos and used loads now.

With the Taranis, I set each servo up and sort out control throws before even installing the receiver using a servo tester which gives a digital readout for the servo travel. Knowing the 1500us centre position for the Taranis makes this easy. Also, with limits of 998us and 2012us for the Taranis, using this servo tester it is easy to adjust the linkages as you build the model.