Wing Servo Installation

The following article was a response by Frank Smith to a query posed by your webmaster.

The best aileron servo's for the money are Hitec HS80 or HS81 and the Hobbico cs11.  Get metal gears in them if at all possible (the gear teeth are so small on these servos that you can bump an aileron putting the wing into the car and strip a plastic gear)-these servo's are around 1/2" thick and weigh about 1/2oz both are important for wing servos.

Torque above 25# is needed- there are many servos that meet the above criteria but they cost much more that those recommended and will not do a better job.

Voltz and Multiplex both make "flat" servos however they cost twice the $25-$30.00 of the above servos and are just overkill for the standard sport ship.

The easiest way to mount the servos is to carefully cut out the sheeting to the outline of the flat servo (mount the servo on its side after you cut off the mounting lugs) and then cut out the foam so that the servo fits snug in the hole and is even with the surface of the wing bottom (a Dremal router set to the correct depth works great).  If you cut the hole a bit big feel free to shim it with balsa or ply. Make sure you open an area so that the servo arm can move freely for its full throw. You then press the servo into the snug hole after centering the arm  with the transmitter on and the correct directions of movement set (do not ask how I know) and then put clear packing or hinge tape over the hole to hold the servo in- simple, light and effective.

Make sure to have the output arms pointing away from each other so one goes forward when the other goes back etc- it is easiest to solder bulk wire (Hands On Hobbies has 3 lead servo wire by the foot) to the servo rather than to use servo extensions with bulky plugs. Twist the wire to reduce possible interference with long leads- the deans 3 pin plugs work well for the wing to fuse junction but so do the normal male/female servo plugs but they cost a lot more.

We all have opinions but the above is basically how most of the competition flyers do it.

This page was last changed on May 02, 2007