GIusedtoBe

As mentioned in my previous FW 190 post, I've had problems with this plane and i'm not sure if this is the way it's supposed to be or I got a lemon.

- From the moment I got the plane hooked up to the battery, the plane was making a gurgling grinding noise similiar to the noise the HZ Super cub makes when the ACT is on. This noise was emanating from the aileron servo. My nephew's spitfire does not make this noise and it also flys well but I digress..

- Even on high rate, the ailerons barely moved and the plane was extremely sluggish in any banking maneuver.

- Even with the plane trimmed out and the nose weight added per the instructions, the plane required full down trim to maintain any semblance of level flight.

Anybody else experienced any of this or is this a "one-off"

Thanks,
Alan

RedGN

Sounds like a bad servo. Check to make sure aervo is plugged into receiver properly. Spitfire has different servos ( three wire ) as yours are the five wire servos. This means you can not replace it with any standard mini servo.

Go back to the place you bought it from and maybe they will replace it for you. This servo is silcone'd into place on the wing. It's a little bit of a pain but can be replaced with no damage.

As for the sluggish unbalaced flight..... I had 4 of these and everyone flew smooth and steady ( better than the spitfire in my opinion ).

Did you try switching the aileron servo and the elevator servo to see if it an actual servo problem?
Try that. also try moving the aileron link down one hole on the aileron horn. This will increase the throw of the aileron.

Also make sure all control surface are perfectly flat at dead stick.

Hope this helps.

GIusedtoBe

Thanks for the tips. I think the aileron servo is bad. The more I think about it the madder I get because the plane went into a spin out of level flight with no directional input from me. All of the control surfaces were visually trimmed pre flight and the aileron control horns were on the second hole.

I think i got a lemon. I wrote a couple of e-mails to Horizon to see what they say because frankly I'm looking at a re-build that will cost nearly as much as the initial purchase price. For a few more dollars i can get a 4 ch RTF plane or an EDF jet. I just wanted something to complement my Nephew's Spitfire and possibly utilize the sonic combat module.

I'll let you know what they say,
Alan

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Alan,
What you have to remember is it's a mass produced product built by folks who are getting paid next to nothing. Doo doo does happen. Been there done that, so I know how you feel.
Just because it says "ALMOST /READY TO FLY" doesn't mean it will fly well. You're always going to have to do something to make it fly the way you feel it should.

Couple of things. Each bird will be different from the same run, little differences in subtle items like somebody used too much or too little glue, causing the CG to change, or the wing and the horizontal stabilizer not being in perfect alignment causing a plane to climb or dive, or the shipping container left somewhere where the elements caused the control rods to rust up, and so on.

You'll find the folks at PZ to be pretty good most of the time on handling issues. If you don't get the answer you want the first time call them again. I had that happen more then once. First person will tell they can't help, second one will take care of the problem.

In the mean time. Noise from a servo can often be traced to a binding condition. Unhook the servo from the control rod and see if the noise goes away. If it does, find what's causing the binding. If it doesn't go away, you have a bad servo.

As for the lack of movement, as Red said check the hole the control rod is connected to. Further out on the servo arm and further in on the control horn will give you more throw.

Also if the 190 is set up like the Mustang was the control rods/tubes caused lots of problem with the ailerons. Not enough glue on the tubes let them move, causing less aileron movement. Also the tubes could have a kink in them, causing both the low movement and a binding servo which would be noisy.

And if the control rods rusted, they will bind inside the tubes, causing the same problems.


Your best bet with any plane that doesn't fly right is to diagnose the problem first. Then if it's a manufacturing problem or something that you can't easily repair yourself, then call PZ for help.

And take it easy on the person you talk to. He/she didn't build it, they are only there to try and help you. If you calmy explain what is going on and what you found I know you'll get a lot more help then if you call up and start chewing on the person.

Best of luck.

Brad

p.s price doesn't always mean quality. I once purchaced an ARF that cost nearly a grand, just for the bird. It had so many defects in construction it wasn't safe to fly.
Working with the supplier, after documenting the problems, I was able to get all the issues handled to my satisfaction.

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

RedGN

GI.... These are plastic and foam constructed RC airplanes. They are made with maximum profit in mind. Parkzone has a great track record with me, although I hate those transmitters.

If you are new to the hobby then please learn how to rebuild these type of parkflyers. All the parts individually are cheap and the main components are easily fixed ( wing, fuselage, horizontal and vertical stabilizer ).

I agree with Glacier girl..... try disconnecting the servo horn from the servo and see if the noise stops. If so then the wire are stuck in the tubes. Also check if the tubes have any movement, if so glue them down. If wire binds in tube try multi purpose oil.

I have a spitfire that allways wants to climb even with trim all the way for down elevator. I repaired the wing but i think the inner skelton is sagging in the rear which is making the the rear of the main wing sit lower than usual and the may be the cause. I even put an extra battery in the front to see if that would correct the problem and it didn't.

I think i will change the inner skeleton and try again this year. It's only $3 for the skeleton and half hour worth of work.

Hope this helps.

eeeclaire69

I had a FW-190 from parkzone and loved it. I bought a new wing for it and had very poor controll throw on the aileron, after inspection it turned out to be the outer snake was not fixed in the wing and so it was moving with the inner. A dose of foam safe glue soon had it sorted!
Ian

GIusedtoBe

Thanks for the tips. I guess technically I am a beginner because I just started in December of last year but I feel like I am pretty competent now and can fly my Art tech 4 channel P 51 and Great Planes 4 ch Fokker D VII without any problems. This was not the case early on w/ the P-51 and i did not fly the Fokker until I knew I could successfully fly and land it. THe P-51 has been rebuilt several times and every time it was my fault so I am pretty familiar with working on foam planes now.

I understand the point about setting up the plane and not all of them are the same but I think I checked all of the blocks and other than risking a second flight after attempting to fix the "problems" I don't feel like I am to blame here. Also I will freely admit that I am not familiar with the aileron setup in the PZ planes. The control wire may have been binding in the tube and also the entire servo was flexing in the foam housing but either way I don't think the plane performed as it was designed to do so thats the beef.

I've got a couple of e-mails in to PZ and I guess I'll see how they respond before I call.

THanks again for the responses,
Alan

RedGN

I understand that you may not be to blae here but i would suggest you get used to repairing these models.

If your not a stickler for money I would suggest investing in a quality radio. Then changing the servos and receiver in the Focke Wulf. Add a brushed ESC and a 11.v 2000mah battery and your rocking. Much better flight characteristics.

GIusedtoBe

I won't say I like repairing these things but this is not a repair its more like a rebuild that will nearly cost as much as buying another model. I'm not so impressed w/ the plane that I won't spend the money elsewhere and cut my losses if PZ does not make some sort of concession.

I thought about the potential for upgrade as well but the main reason I bought this kit in the first place was to be able to use the sonic combat module. Can the SCM be modified to work with any other setup?

Regards,
Alan

Glacier Girl

My Feedback: (4)

Alan, PZ's planes are what they are, as you see all the forums on them concerning correcting what's wrong, and in making them better. And they're not alone.

ARF's/RTF's as Red had said are bare minimum planes. For the cost, the mfg is putting in the bare minimum of quality components. That's just the way it is, in most cases.

To get anything more you are going to have to upgrade or mod it. You should have seen the first STRYKERS, which I know a little about, crappy 3 piece foam body, brushed motor, 27 mh radios, servos that failed if you looked at them. Give PZ kudos for seeing what owners were doing to them, and what complaints there were. Look at the STRYKER now. Oh the fun you missed with them.

If you mastered their Mustang, you done good. The Stang was probably one of the hardest PZ birds to get a handle on.

Some additional advice if I can. An ARF or RTF is what it is, and for the most part you'll always want something more then it can deliver, stock. One of the benefits of our time is you now have all the resources of the forums to help you. I've found it's better to wait before buying something new, let the dust settle, see what the world thinks of it, good or bad.

Then make a decision whether to buy, knowing in advance what you may have to do to it to make it something you'll enjoy flying.
Or as your experience grows, buy the bare airframe, not the ARF/RTF versions, and install good quality electronics in it. I do this a lot.

Don't let one imperfect plane ruin your taste for the hobby.

As for the sonic module question, I seem to remember a couple of forums on just that, either here, on Watt Fflyer, or RC Groups, try using the search function to find them.