Ihave a trainer that Ibought off of ebay ages ago and it has been sitting on a shelf. It was an ARF and I think it is called a Reliance (?). I crashed my other trainer the other day so decided to give this a try. It has a very long push rod from the servo to the rudder and has a lot of flex when actuating the servo. I have seen assemblies that utilize a wooden dowel rod and then have the metal ends somehow attached. Where can I find instructions to make that type of push rod
thanks</p>

Very simple

What He Said...

I have alsoused 1/4" Square balsa with good results on 40 sized planes. A little easier to work with.

Good luck

You folks rock.  thanks you are right very simple, even for me being a brain surgeon I think I can do this. (I am not really a brain surgeon)
Irvin

no, but we all should have our head examined at some point with what we spend on this hobby! LOL

I've heard several people say that.... but then I cite yearly golf club membership fees.

But at least I can get the plane to fly back to me...........well most of the time anyway. I want to see a golf ball do that.

Yeah and we also have something to show for most of our expenses.... I can't say the same about a golf club membership.

I would rather use a continuous wire that goes from point A to point B instead of a "Chop Stick" type pushrod.
The chopstick pushrod has been proven to work in mediocre performing / medium powered aircraft..even some higher performing models, but I'd still rather go with a continuous wire that has simple balsa wood guides that it passes through every 6 inches or so.
I think the unsupported mass of a chopstick pushrod can contribute to premature flutter.

well, it is a trainer so not worried about high end performance.  Can't get into the fuse cause is ARF so can't affix balsa guides...no access
thanks for your input.  I am building an old Goldberg model i found on my shelf and may try this

I do the same thing but use a cheap carbon fiber arrow shaft. THe arrows come in different diamiters and don't flex or bend over time. JUst another way to do the same thing.

Hi all,
I was taught to make my own push rods early on in my modeling experience.
GOAL stiff and light. Stiff for obvious reasons but light is VERY important to preserve servos in those "sudden stop" situations.
Medium to hard balsa is fine so are the arrow shafts. Bamboo from the dollar store used for plant stakes is really fun as well. recycled carbon fishin' poles are really nice.

Minnflyer's pics are super, I like to wrap the srting back past the hole for the wire bend. UNwaxxed dental floss is handy on the bench for this kind of stuff.

The Sullivan style flexible rod in a tube rigs are handy for some situations but they require support with balsa cross pieces in the fuse.

It sounds as if the original poster has this problem.??? Many cheap ARF trainers require a bit of surgery to add push rod support.

Hi all,
I was taught to make my own push rods early on in my modeling experience.
GOAL stiff and light. Stiff for obvious reasons but light is VERY important to preserve servos in those "sudden stop" situations.
Medium to hard balsa is fine so are the arrow shafts. Bamboo from the dollar store used for plant stakes is really fun as well. recycled carbon fishin' poles are really nice.

Minnflyer's pics are super, I like to wrap the string back past the hole for the wire bend. UNwaxxed dental floss is handy on the bench for this kind of stuff.

The Sullivan style flexible rod in a tube rigs are handy for some situations but they require support with balsa cross pieces in the fuse.

It sounds as if the original poster has this problem.??? Many cheap ARF trainers require a bit of surgery to add push rod support.

There is a lot of negitive talk about the Sullivan flex rods flexing. To a point it is true. If the outside rod isn't installed with bracing or there are several inches of it sticking out the back before it is attached to the control. It also gets soft in the heat. I have found it works very well in a lot of planes like Cubs and trainers where a bit of flex doesn't mater. It's easy to install and can be slightly bent to go around things. I keep a supply in my shop and use it in some builds.

The wire in a tube type pushrods are the same concept as the Sullivan plastic ones but don't suffer from the same negatives. They can still do mild bends and are stiffer where they come out of the fuselage. I have them on my Kaos and the connection is rock solid.