miker49

My Feedback: (4)

 has anyone had an issue with hitec hs 985mg servos? i am still trying to get mine done. i used these analog servos,everything hooked up and all worked fine.i had the landing gear converted to electric by down and locked,[excellent work and system,great guys to deal with] and when i plug in both systems,the servos go crazy.if i unplug the gear,all servos work fine.if i plug in the gear and unplug the flight surfaces,the gear works fine,can't use the two together.i did use a couple of ds 821 DIGITAL servos and everything works great together.any ideas?  i am using a jr 9503 radio and a 921x rec. thanks all

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Well a couple of thoughts starting with the fact that the JR/Spektrum 2048 resolution capable tx/rx combos don't like analog servos. What happens is that the rx sends out a pulse in the 700ms range which is outside of the servo's normal operating range of 900 to 2100 and the analog servos don't like it with some brands, notably Hitec being affected more than others. So when you power on you can get a nasty servo deflection until the rx links with the tx.

Next possibility is a bad servo, bad servo extension or such can cause problems. Try connecting the flight control surface servos one at a time with the gear hooked up and see if you can isolate a problem. If it does it with only one flight control servo hooked up and the gear, then I don't have any other suggestions.

The other thing of note is that it would appear the Hitec 985MG isn't manufactured any more but is listed as a "Metal Karbonite Gear Set". Neither the Hitec Karbonite gear servos nor the JR/Spektrum DS-821's are rated for use in this model both by overall weight and the use of a gas engine which produces more vibration than a glow engine or electric.

Whiskey Bravo

My Feedback: (31)

I have one of these airplanes and while they fly great the retracts are another story. I know I read in this thread about a gentleman who manufactures metal gear blocks to replace the plastic ones. I have searched several times but have been unable to relocate it. Would someone please direct me to the correct post number number. Thank you.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

How 'bout if I just give you a link to the company that makes them?

http://www.sierragiant.com/

Be aware that the owner of the company and his wife were recently involved in a serious motorcycle crash so a response your inquiry may be delayed.

Whiskey Bravo

My Feedback: (31)

ZEEB, Thanks for the link. Is the stock gear 85 or 90 degrees? I assume 90.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

I'm going to have to plead ignorance on that question. I'm reasonably sure some of the other guys can tell you but the only reason I even remembered those replacement blocks is because my little brother has the TF Mustang with the Robarts and the gear in the AW Mustang is a copy of that Robart gear.

I do remember a brief discussion with Darrell (Sierra owner) about the replacement gear I got for mine and IIRC he said that an 88 degree gear looked better so that's what he recommended and I think that's what mine are but can't swear to it right now. I know it's engraved on my gear but it's in a place you can't see it when it's installed and I'm sorry but I'm not 'gonna take it out so I can look... lol

Perhaps if you were to hit Tower's website and look for the Robart gear that fits the TF Mustang it'd answer your question?

Whiskey Bravo

My Feedback: (31)

Thanks, will do.

miker49

My Feedback: (4)

  zeeb,i used the spektrum 821's to try to isolate the problem.will start today to try to figure it out.the 821's are digital, i know are to small,but the problem does not arise with them.will let you know and will try to contact hi tec,,,thanks

Zorba1

Hi, I am trying to put my 51 together for allingment.
It seems that the radiator scoop don't fit right.
I got the ARC version.
The wings are fitted in the fuse and bolted down. The scoop wont align properly. When I position the scoop flat on the wing the back end lifts up, when I line up the back end the front lifts up.
Does anyone had that problem?
Thanks
see pics.


Bill

n8622t

My Feedback: (8)

No....call AW. Nice finish

Zorba1

Thanks Jimmy.
I am really getting discouraged. I started this project back in June, and everyhting went wrong. I got the ARC kit, parts were missing and AW send them to me.
Now I need a cowl and no stock, a wing bag, no stock they don't know when they will be in stock again.
Just have to wait I guess.
My gear is back to D&L for repair ( my fault) waiting for decals, exhaust is coming and so is winter. Have to wait till spring to test it out.

I mounted the scoop yersteday, I used some bondo to fill the gap and it seems to work, as long as it wont come off in flight.
here's a photo.
Cheers

rslstft

My Feedback: (10)

I've been flying mine now quite a bit now that I have the gear sorted out. Flew her 6 flights last Saturday without any problems whatsoever. Flies very predictable and landings are relatively easy to make look good. Has become one of my favorite planes to take out to the field. Finally got some in-flight shots and thought I'd share them.

Zorba1

Nice shots look real.


Cheers

tom2bell

Very nice pics thanks for posting
Tom

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Great pictures, I've done enough tinkering with photography that I'm really impressed with your efforts.

On another note; getting closer to playing with the retract sequencer and it says the input voltage limit is 6.5 volts. I asked the Aeroworks guys about it and couldn't get a definitive answer other than a voltage regulator might be a good idea. So you guys who are flying this thing; are you running anything like 5 cell NiMH's which come off the charger at 7.2 volts? I'm actually running A123's which come off the charger at 7.2 volts but pretty quickly drop to 6.6 volts and pretty much stay there through the discharge curve.

Am I 'gonna have to reduce the voltage to the sequencer?

efly726

I'm running a 5 cell NM with no issues.

Mark Dennis

My Feedback: (4)

We used Fromeco Li-Ion's with a regulator and had no issues. We never ran them up past 6.5 volts and I would recommend not running them past that even for a few minutes. I am sure it would work for a few charge cycles but the prolonged effects will most likely damage it.

Mark

rslstft

My Feedback: (10)

Zeeb,
I too, like Mark am running Fromeco Li-Ion's regulated down to 5.95v. I haven't had any problems except for a weird abnormality (see post 837), but I doubt voltage has anything to do with that (and last time I flew, the abnormality didn't even occur). I think Mark is right, it MAY work for a while but fail from overvoltage at the worst possible time. Thanks for the compliments on the photos, guys. I wish I could take the credit, but they were taken by a fellow club member and I didn't even know until he asked me for my email address to send them to me.

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Okay guys I appreciate the input so far, but there's 'gotta be more folks out there who aren't running regulators with Li-Ion batteries?

I've sent e-mails to one of the USA vendors Jetlegend lists on their website for support and actually sent one to the sales e-mail address at Jetlegend since that's all they list on their website, we'll see if I hear anything back from either of those sources...

In the mean time, I guess I'll build a short servo extension with a diode in it which should reduce the voltage by .6 or .7 volts. Lots of guys running DLE engines are doing that since those ignitions don't like over 6.0 volts.

JamesPool

My Feedback: (3)

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

Okay I seem to have a definition issue here.... lol

When rigging the tailwheel steering cables I got 'em tight enough that I think they're okay but when the tailwheel is retracted, I'm getting a lot more slop in the cables than I would think is a good deal.

Here's the quote from the manual:

"Note: Insure the pull pull cables are not overly tight
as this can prevent the tail wheel from locking
into place. Their should be a slight
amount of play when the tail wheel is in the
up position."

Now I'm not unfamiliar with pull pull setups and use 'em on some of my aerobats so the cable tension question isn't an issue, I might be able to tighten these cables up a bit more perhaps a turn or two on the ball links but that certainly wouldn't get rid of all the slop in the cables when the tail wheel is retracted, at least IMHO.

So I'm going to post two pics of that rudder servo with the tail wheel steering cables hooked up. I've not crimped the sleeves yet as I wanted to make sure it was set really close before doing so and that's why you see the long ends and no crimping on the sleeves. The rudder ball links are attached to the servo arm but the cables are not attached to the rudder at this point. The first picture is with the tail wheel extended and the second is with the tail wheel retracted, note the angle of the ball links.

How 'bout taking a look at what I've got and tell me if this is acceptable?


Thanks guys!

n8622t

My Feedback: (8)

Hey Zeeb, here is mine as it was during construction....you will get some looseness in the tail wheel cables when it is retracted. If it is an issue for you, you can always attach a rubber band to the cables and they will hold the slack when the tail wheel is retracted

wfield0455

My Feedback: (7)

I never even thought to worry about the sequencer as far as voltage is concerned so I've been running unregulated LiIons with mine. No problems so far but I've only got about a dozen flight on it. Of course I've probably run it about a MILLION hours on the bench dealing with all the air leaks I had with the retracts before I finally swapped them out for a pair of Robarts :^) Last flight the tail wheel retract blew up, looks like that will need to be replaced with a Robart too :^(

Wayne

Zeeb

My Feedback: (41)

If that's the way the thing is supposed to be then I don't have an issue with it, just seemed like it wasn't right when I hooked 'em up last night. Are yours that loose when the cables are hooked up?

I also notice you changed the cable termination setup to something much more useful for adjusting the tensions, those look like what SWB sells? I'm so tired of having to order parts and wait it's really driven up the assembly time even far beyond my normal "slow" assembly speed. Like my muffler for the DA-60 was mis-drilled and had to go back to Jtec, the hurricane hit while it was enroute and Jtec is in NC, it was gone for a month. I played around with different gear door collars on the Sierra retracts and that was almost a month screwing around with that, when my BVM stuff showed up I didn't have any 90 degree angles, just T's, 'nother week waiting for those and so on.... Oh well, it's getting there and I'm quite pleased with how it's turning out...

Then Wayne pipes up about the tail gear failing.... UGH.... I looked at that puppy when I pulled it out to replace the air lines with the BVM stuff and wondered about replacing it, but I'd not really seen guys post about issues with that tail gear other than the occasional air leak?

Oh, I got a response on the input voltage question for the Jetlegend gear sequencer from one of the USA vendors. Said they'd directed the question to the appropriate place and would get back to me with the answer.

Thanks for the help; any of you other guys got thoughts, please feel free to chime in.

rslstft

My Feedback: (10)

Zeeb,
I have about 35 flights on mine now and the tail gear is the one part of the stock system that I haven't had any trouble with at all and I charge my air system to 110 psi before take off.
As far as the tail wheel steering, I just set it up with the cables tight (just like the rudder cables) with the gear was extended and it's been fine. Mine, with the Sierra gear and Robart valves installed will only lose maybe 5-10 lbs of air in 24 hours, I also installed 2 additional air tanks, (1 large and 1 small Robart) as it seemed the larger Sierra gear cylinders needed more air volume. Might be a bit of overkill as I can cycle the gear (starting down, gear up then down again) about 8 times before the pressure reaches the setpoint I have for the Tam Jets gear failsafe (50psi)