Radios

Should I use something to help hold the servo screws in the servos? With servo arms that have a nylon output shaft, you normally would not be required to use a "substance" to help hold the servo arms onto the shaft. With servos that have a metal output shaft, I strongly recommend that you use something to give assistance to the screw, such as Loctite, Thread locker, etc.

A good friend of mine Frank Noll Jr lost a 40% Edge due to an elevator servo arm coming off in flight. There was Loctite used in the screw installation, and even though he thought that it was secure, that turned out not to be foolproof. Recent information was given to him that Loctite now has a different formula/product that is specially designed for smaller bolts such as we use in our models. It is purple in color, not red or blue, as we are accustomed to seeing.

I lost a 40% Cap due to the same problem. I was using the purple Loctite. My opinion is that vibration cracked the tread locker and let the servo screw back out. Now I use RC-56 on my threads on metal output shafts. I have had success with this method. It remains flexible, within the threads and allows it to continue to secure the bolt. Since switching to this method I have put well over 9000 flights on an airplanes with this application.

How do I secure my servo leads where they plug together? There are a lot of different methods that you can use. The one that I prefer on the aileron and elevator leads are a new little yellow lead lockers. You can purchase these from most Hobby Shops. I will try and get a photo up along with the name and a place to purchase.

Fromeco Batteries I just recently received all my new Fromeco Batteries. All I can say is WOW! These batteries are the best batteries that I have ever used. They are 8.4 volts batteries so you have to run regulators to cut them down to 6 volt. The advantage of doing this is that all of your flights will be at 6 volts, from max charge all the way down to the voltage stopping point. I am using two 4800 mah on the flight pack and one 2400 mah on the ignition. I am running my batteries down to 7.0 volts using the Fromeco 8 Ball digital voltage checker. It puts a 1 amp load on the batteries when checking them. The other thing that I've noticed about Fromeco is their regulators. These things are over built. They have a built in heat sink for cooling. I am also using there power switches called the Badger Switch. These guys are awesome to do business with. I'm very impressed with Fromeco, there products and there entire operation. For more information please visit there website at www.fromeco.org There website is packed with tons of information and a lot of Questions and Answers.

Kill Switch I get asked all the time, what do I use to as a kill switch. I use my radio to kill the engine. I will give a brief explanation how I do this.
I start out with a throttle to throttle mix. I usually give it a mixing value of around 20%. I then assign it to the snap roll button. After I do this, I then set my trim on my throttle so when it's all the way down the engine idle is set to landing speed. I do this by adjusting the sub-trim. This works extremely well. There is never any guessing where your trim is. When you get ready to land just pull your trim lever all the way down. If your plane is coming in and still a little hot, just tap the snap roll button very quickly and it will almost kill the engine but will remain running slowing the engine down. Works like an airbrake. When you get ready to shut off your engine just hold down the snap roll button until the engine dies. Now you will have to adjust the value of the throttle to throttle mix and your sub-trim but once you have this done it really takes the guess work out of your engine idle position.

JR Matchboxes I started using the JR Matchboxes this year. This is my set-up. I am using three matchboxes per plane on all my 40% planes. I am using two for the ailerons and one for rudder. I mount one in each wing. This really makes the connection in the fuselage easy. I just use a short 3" extension from the receiver to the lead coming from the matchbox. I do this for both wings. I then secure the connection with some new lead clips that I recently got. For the rudder, since I mount my rudder servos in the back of the airplane, I mount the matchbox back there as well. I use one lead from the receiver to the back of the airplane and plug it into the matchbox. I plug the servos lead directly into the matchbox. This makes programming the matchboxes a snap. If you had four elevator servos you could mount a matchbox in each stab half just like I did the wings. This is how my 50% Edge is set-up.

Single Receiver or Dual Receivers This is something else I get asked all the time. My theory is keep it simple as you can when it comes to radio installation. I have seen a lot of different methods when it comes to this. I have used one receiver on all planes for years except my 50% Edge. The only reason I run two receivers on the 50% is just to make it easier to plug in all the servo leads. My set up in 40% airplanes is this. I run one receiver, two batteries and two switches. I will plug one of the batteries into the battery port on the receiver and the other one into an auxiliary channel on the receiver. This method has proven to be very reliable for me. I've never had a receiver failure in 18 years of flying.
Now if you do want to run two receivers this is my recommended set-up. Plug one battery and one switch into each receiver. Split the airplane into two halves as far as servos go. Plug the servos on the right side of the airplane into the receiver on that side and do the same on the left side. This will help split the load going through each receiver. Now what happens if you lose a switch, battery or one of the receivers? Well you will loose half of the airplane. Now you can fly the airplane with only half of the airplane giving you control but it's not to much fun with a $7000 bird. But what if the side you lose is the side the throttle is hooked to? Well if you're in a torque roll the ground will be coming quick. I have a solution for this. Get a servo wire with a male end at each end. Use this as a jumper wire to plug both receiver together. If you loose a battery, switch or receiver on one side the other side will feed the servos with power. This happened to me during a demo flight at a full scale airshow a couple years ago. All I notice was my servos slowed down a little during the flight. This was all caused by a faulty switch. It just so happened to be on the receiver that the throttle servo was plugged into. I was able to complete the flight and no one even knew I had a problem. There is a very simple way to test this each and every time you fly. Prior to starting the engine and when you first turn on your power to your receivers, I do this simple test. I first turn on one side and work all the control surfaces. All my control surfaces should work. Then I turn it off and repeat this step for the other receiver. This way your making sure that both switches and batteries are working. Remember when it comes to receivers, servos and switches you can't take short cuts and use inadequate equipment. It's all about safety.