RCU Forums - View Single Post - Pull-pull goemetry question
View Single Post
Old 06-21-2003 | 10:47 PM
  #3  
KJohn
Senior Member
 
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 264
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
From: Medina, OH
Default Pull-pull goemetry question

Let me assume you are talking about a pull-pull system on a rudder.

I would suggest that the servo be mounted on the centerline of the fuselage if at all possible. There will be no question this will work without concerns. However if you must mount the servo 'off center' within the fuselage then hook the pull-pull up with something like dental floss and make a little measuring tool from cardboard that clamps to the fin and is positioned behind the rudder such that you can see the amount of throw of the rudder from neutral to right and from neutral to left (that is make a rotation guage). Move the rudder to extreme left and mark the rudder position. Now move the rudder to the extreme right and mark the rudder position. Move the rudder to neutral and mark the neutral position. Now see how much difference there is between the right and left throw.

Sometimes you can adjust 'throw control' or 'differential' in the transmitter to balance the amount of throw from right to left to compensate for the servo being off center. Make the transmitter adjustments until you obtain equal movement in both directions.

To visualize what is actually happening if the servo is mounted off of the center line of the fuselage draw two circles one above the other separated by a few inches. Draw a line horizontally through the center of each circle. The lines represent the servo and pull-pull arms. The circles represent the possible positions of the ends of the arms. Now draw lines that represent the cables. When the servo is centered within the fuselage the servo will rotate the pull-pull equally in both directions.

Now draw another two circles but this time place the bottom one further off to the left or to the right. Draw the horizontal lines through each circle and then draw the cables attaching to those horizontal lines. You will see that the movement of the pull-pull arm will not be the same when being rotated clockwise then counterclockwise (both from neutral). If this 'natural' imbalance in movement can be compensated for with the transmitter then this may work fine. If the servo is too far from the center of the fuselage the system may prove too difficult to use.

Since the servo arm and pull-pull connections rotate on center points (they scribe circles) it causes problems the further off center the servo is placed. In your drawings rotate the control arms within the circles and see what I mean. At some point moving the servo off center too much will not provide adequate control.