Aileron torque rods.

Do you use them?

I am sure people had been using dual aileron servos before this, but from my research, it was Chip Hyde that really made the use of dual aileron servos popular. Before this, we relied primarily on torque rods.

Personally, I believe they receive a lot of undeserved flak. I have my opinions that basically say people just do not know how to install them. There is a pivot point to these torque rods. The hinge line needs to be centered on this pivot point. Because of this, the torque rod needs to be recessed into the TE of the wing slightly to match the prefered alignment of our hinging.

Without doing this, we are putting strain on the glue joints of the hinges, as well as the glue joint of the rod in the aileron. This explains why so many people complain about them wobbling loose.

I do not believe it is the technology, but the assembly. This does not mean you are religated to one servo either! You can still hook up one servo per torque rod in the center of the wing.

Anyone else out there like torque rods? Share pics if interested.

I will be building a BlueJay Dirty Birdy kit this winter. I'll be using the torque rods- much to the frustration of a lot of people! It cleans up the airfoil and looks great! They are reliable if installed properly.

Brian