Old John B Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 I have read previous writings on this kit but mine is a newer one. Quite honestly I have had many seagull kits and they have been fine , BUT this one? It has all the faults mentioned before, rudder and tail wheel, engine mounts supplied not long enough etc etc. I am not worried about the servo mounts for the retracts though, got a piece of ply and made some more. The major problem though was the preinstalled outers for the rudder and the elevators. The elevator snake outlets run side by side on the port side, emerging from the small bulkhead fitted just behind the servo tray and the rudder snake come out thirty mm away from them. Now I didn't check before I started other wise the whole shooting match would have gone back to the shop! Anyway the outer for the rudder was the middle one of the three thus creating a problem, as it meant that the two elevator push rods did not go to the elevator servo Easy I thought you are a modeler, fix it.! Just cut them out at the bulkhead and swap them over. This I did, but the snag was that the outers were supported and glued in as they went up to the other end of the fuselage and that made quite an acute bend just before they came out of the bulkhead and on to the servo. Naturally the pushrod was a little stiff. To ensure that it worked I put in some servos with a big pull. Worked grand on the elevator but the suppled push rods being made of a soft metal I noticed that the rudder one would bend a little, not much but to be on the safe side I replaced the push rod. Why am I writing this long screed? I am fairly ancient, the wrong side of eighty ,eyes not too good ,fingers very dodgy and I buy these ARTF models as you usually have an easy run when you are making them. In the old days it was known as cheque book modeling. The point is buyer beware and if you are old and doddery like me read some of the reviews in our magazine before you leap in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denis Watkins Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 This ARTF situation is a pain JB, I know that I am wrong to tolerate this problem, but I just don't expect ARTF offerings to be right. I would have no models if I had sent them back, as non of them were fit for purpose. The supplied fittings are never used, and always replaced by me. The whole model seldom fits together without some major fettling. I am in the wrong, I know this, but I can get flying quicker if it is expected that ARTF just isn't ready to fly. Edited By Denis Watkins on 01/10/2016 12:17:45 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Hi John, I've put a few ARTFs together including some Seagull ones. More and more often they are being set up for twin elevator servos, so you now need three servos for the tail surfaces, two elevator servos with the rudder servo mounted in the middle. There is logic behind this way of setting a model up as it means the two servos driven by two channels coupled in the transmitter (or by a Y lead) gives redundancy in the event of a servo failure and allows the movement of the two elevator halves to be matched. In the past I've driven independent elevator pushrods through a mechanical connection but it is then difficult to truly match the movements throughout their range. I do agree though that ARTFs can make a lot of assumptions about what equipment you will be installing and don't always bother with too much in the way of instructions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.. Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Funnily enough this actual ARTF model came up in conversation this morning at my local (ish) model shop. They have sold 5 seagull zero's in the past and all of them were riddled with the same problems that you are experiencing John. Sadly it looks to be a proper stinker and is known as one in the trade, personally I would take it back and get the distributor to swap it for another plane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Cotsford Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 My apologies - I've just looked up the instructions on-line and it is a two servo setup on this beast, not what I expected to see at all! It does sound like a bit of a -up on the part of the manufacturer! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul De Tourtoulon Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Posted by .. on 01/10/2016 13:12:39: Funnily enough this actual ARTF model came up in conversation this morning at my local (ish) model shop. They have sold 5 seagull zero's in the past and all of them were riddled with the same problems that you are experiencing John. Sadly it looks to be a proper stinker and is known as one in the trade, personally I would take it back and get the distributor to swap it for another plane. It's like buying fish, they all smell and taste like fish,,, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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