Handyandy2

Hi
Should the "on off" switch be positoned with the "off" positioned towards the rear of the aircraft? Thanks for your help.

Handyandy

SilverEagle2

My Feedback: (9)

Not that I fly fast enough, but I always posisiton my switches to be "on" towards the rear. Would hate to have drag on the switch turn me off!

Cheers

FLYBOY

My Feedback: (11)

I think the standard is on to the back. The only problem I have ever had with that is my finger slipped over a switch throwing a glider once and turned it off. Luckily it landed itself.

Texas 3D

My Feedback: (16)

Does it really matter ? I always mount my switch wherever I find the best place for it, and that should always be on the opposite side of the exhaust !
Just my $0.02

tonyc

My Feedback: (4)

Doesn't really matter, what is more important is that you are consistent with other aircraft that you will have in the future.
That way you get into a routine that is the same for all aircraft.

What I do, switch is on when you push forward towards the prop. I fly giant scale now but at one time I flew hand lanched scale models. Since you push these models forward to get them started on their flight you don't want of accedently push the switch into the off position as you release.

tonyc

linclogs

I was always taught to mount the switch with "on" towards the front of the plane. I was told the thinking was, if the plane should hit the ground hard, then bounce back into the air, the forward momentum COULD be hard enough to knock the switch to the "off" position if "off" was to the front. Mind you this was back in the days of rubber band powered escapements. I can honestly say I've never seen this happen, but I still have always followed this "rule", just to be on the safe side.

Ladyflyer

My Feedback: (2)

The old standard was Off forward and ON rearward . You are a whole lot more likely to have a twig an errant brush from a hand while releasing etc. move the switch rearward or OFF by accident.
Of course you could wire two switches in parallel and hve one forward AND one rearward for ON then then IF you hit so hard one switch is popped to the OFF position you will be covered going in nose first or TAIL first !!!! :spinnyeye
At least that's what I heard

strato911

What's the standard when mounting the switch inside, and having a small (stiff) wire inserted through it so that it becomes a push/pull action on the switch? I prefer to use push in for on, pull out for off. That way, if I happen to hit it while working on it, I can't turn it off by accident.

P.S., the picture doesn't show it, but the wire extends to the outside of the fuselage by Ľinch, with a collar screwed onto it for grip.

Lee Belew

My Feedback: (2)

How about mounting it verticle. Then there is no doubt which way is on and which way is off. This will require a sligltly larger airplane.
Lee

Crash90

My Feedback: (17)

Where I fly there are alot of trees. We position she switch so that on is twards the back. That way if a tree should jump up and grab our plane it cant turn the radio off. It makes it alot easier to find the plane when you can walk thru the woods moving your tx controlls listening for movement.

DeadSticker

My Feedback: (18)

I use the Fromeco Reliaswitches. Pretty easy to tell if one is on or off. Pin in, system off. Pin out, system on!!

WreckRman2

My Feedback: (5)

In your case I would think it would be wiser to use a downed plane locater.

DeadSticker

My Feedback: (18)

Or put a GPS module in it...

strato911

My "pushrod" version protects against trees, dumb thumbs, errant feet or anything else from accidentally switching it off. It doesn't cost anything, and there's no pin to lose. The only way to turn it off requires gripping the wheel collar and pulling. The only downside I have found, is it is possible for it to turn itself on during transport. When I get home I always check, and since I have a voltwatch mounted in the cockpit, all it takes is a quick glance.

Another nice thing about this method of switch mounting, it makes a neater looking fuselage from the outside, and there's no chance of exhaust "gunk" getting into the switch.

SwampFlier-RCU

Hey Dead sticker... where do you get the Fromeco reliawsitch?

gone.

Being consistent from model to model is important when you have a bunch. I always mount mine push to the front to fly and to the rear for off. If it's a push / pull type then it's pull for on and push for off. That way it's not likely to get turned on during transport and leave me with a less than fully charged battery when I arrive at the field. In the first case it is possible to get it turned off if you fly too close to the trees but I have been lucky in that I don't fly close to the trees anymore. Used to but soon realized some of them jump. Then there are those areas at most flying fields that are prone to gravity gusts.

strato911

I would rather risk it turning on in transport than turning off while handling the plane. I can always use a field charger.

I've seen numerous pilots doing a "slingshot" take-off (hold plane, rev throttle to max, then let go). Once witnessed a flight where the person holding the plane bumped the switch while at full throttle, then let go! Good thing the elevator was enough out of trim that it didn't get more than a foot off the ground before hitting tall grass.

DeadSticker

My Feedback: (18)

You can try HERE . I ordered mine directly from Fromeco, but their site seems to be down. the are great, and they come in regulated and non-regulated models. I have zero complaints about them. When I ordered mine I also ordered extra flags and have not had to use a new one yet. If you take them and sew a piece of velcro on it then stick them to the back of your Tx, you will never loose them.

SwampFlier-RCU

Resurrecting an Older tread... the new Fromeco website is:

www.fromeco.org

and they have some more interesting switches for giant scale applications

tiggerinmk

I've always mounted my switches with 'on' toward the back. On my Hobbistar I used the JR deluxe switch which has an action which is a lot easier and smoother than the standard cheapo switch. I planted that plane shortly after take off. When I found it, the fuse was totally intact sticking vertically up in the air with the engine buried in the earth about 4". When I later checked the switch, it was off. I don't think there was much chance of the plane bouncing and continuing flight though...

David Cutler

Watch out when you are doing tailslides!

-David C.

SDR-Hammer

Well what we’ve learned so far is, if six people mount a switch one way there are half a dozen that do just the opposite.

For a few reasons I prefer to mount the switch internal with an external wire with push for on , pull for off (same as strato911) It’s practically impossible to “bump” off.

To avoid accidental turn on’s during transport I use a small piece of light ply with a groove cut up the middle so it slides over the wire and wedges between the fuse and pull button.

stlmusic

I've installed switches in almost every possible position and I guess it depends on the situation. For example when my brother and I were fairly young we would fly a gentle lady glider off a hi-start but instead of simple landings we would fly it to the other person and they had to catch it and then it was their turn to fly. We were getting real fast at making the change over so one time he caught the glider and placed it on the high-start fairly fast. The glider was launched. As we watched it climb out high and straight it started banking to the left. No amount of correction from the receiver made a difference. We watched the plane bank into a straight dive to the ground. Man, a glider can really move down fast when still attached to a high-start. That high-start finally came off but not until the glider impacted the ground. As you can probably already guess this switch was mounted with the back position set to off. When my brother caught it the switch slid back. When the radio was installed the forward (on) position made sense because of hand launching. When throwing the glider off a hill for slope soaring we didn't want to accidental slide the switch forward and turn it off as it flew over the edge of the cliff.

In my LMH helicopter the switch is designed to be mounted vertically and a wire comes out under the fuselage. (Side mounting does not make much sense with the crutch design and the method with which the canopy connects). If you mount the switch with off being in the up position you risk the chance of turning the radio off if you bounce hard. This helicopter does not have collective so sometimes when close to the ground you need to give quite a bit of throttle to keep it from descending onto the ground so if the switch does get turned off if it bounces the helicopter would fly up and shortly crash. So, off is down. Now I just have to make sure I don't hook something with the wire and turn the radio off while taking off. It takes quite a bit of pull to turn the switch off so I know grass won't do it. This is not likely to be turned off by this action.

Basically put the switch in the way you think will be most convenient, but out of the way of the exaust. For gliders I prefer the switch with a wire that sticks out of the fuselage.

carbon wingnut

Hi Deadsticker,


Could you get with me off the list. Thanks.

Sorry I know this is off the subject of :spinnyeye switches...

Kurt
Fromeco Scale Avionics
www.fromeco.org
[email protected]

Geistware

My Feedback: (16)

All my planes have the switches mounted to be visible on the left side of the plane. WIth this said, back is on, foreward is off.