First, let me thank all of you who respond so willingly to FNG's questions. We used to make a big joke out of sending FNG's after radar reflecting paint, and now they actually have it! So bear with me while I fall off this turnip truck... I'm building my first kit, second plane, a Sig SE;

1) Are Dubro swivel ball links and safety quick links a good value upgrade for my fuse mounted pull-pull set-ups? Should I consider other (better) types? If so, which? Do you even use the nylon stuff supplied with kits?

2) I can not for the life of me figure what is a good value in control horns. $3.50/pr for sullivan metal seems high, and do I need left/right, and of what size? Are Hayes nylon at $.50/pr good enough? Recommendations requested.

3) Why didn't anyone tell me that $500 is to RC what swizzling a toe is to swimming?

I have a vision in my head of you guys hanging around in raincoats saying "Hey buddy, wanna buy an airplane?"!
Seriously, this site has been a real treat.

Cheers

I find on a power plane, never use ball links, never use plastic. I use metal clevises. Plastic strips easily due to vibration. Metal doesn't. The control horn that attatches to the surface can be plastic. As for the parts from the kit, I use some, and not others. The plastic clevises get thrown in a drawer for gliders.

Have a blast.

Ball links are great on the throttle only.I use the quick fastners and never had a problem,but prefer the E/Z Link by Du-Bro, or Snapper Keeper by Goldberg. I throw the sleaves and intersleaves in the trash or use on the throttle only,to much flex even with 3" supports,I use the Sullivan control horns on planes 120 size and smaller,medium on the SE,any thing in the control system that can flex or bend will,if it bends under a load you will lose that amount of control, as far as price and quality? Depends on how hard you fly and how much you enjoy rebuilding.

I never would use a ball link on a control surface, and especially not for the type of flying that the SE is intended. They're great on throttles though, since you can't always have the linkage coming in perfectly straight to the throttle and use a clevis. As for nylon, nylon control horns are fine. Nylon clevises are for trainers and slow flyers. Use the nylon horns that come with the kit, but use some good Dubro or Sullivan metal clevises. On my Fazer, which is basically a profile version of your same airplane, I even went so far as to upgrade all the 2-56 hardware to 4-40.



Use the horns that come with the kit. Here's a little tip: position the horn and drill the holes before you cover the control surface. Then soak the balsa in the general area around the holes with thin CA. This will prevent the balsa from getting crushed when you tighten the screws.

Heh. More addictive than crack cocaine. :bananahea

You'll love the SE. Just make sure you don't have a radio glitch that makes the ailerons go hardover left, and have it start rolling like a blur on short final, or here's the result: (not my plane, but I was a witness to the carnage... poor guy crashed his heli that same night too. felt bad for him..)

You're saving me money, time, and maybe planes. I appreciate you.

Cheers

One more thing....

Pssst...Wanna buy an airplane?

MinnFlyer -->

I'm sure of it ociffer! Perzactly.

Dang, you got some ability! Oh my misspent youth...

Cheers!

Ouch.... stop ....my stomach hurts from laughing so hard

Hey Grazzhopper: I had a friend lose his SE the other day while doing some wild and hairy snap rolls. Post mortum showed all was working fine. He rebuilt the plane and went to do a range check. I noticed the aileron on the right wing was drooping, when he tried to adjust it he found the servo mount had pulled loose, and was flopping in the breeze. This wing was not damaged in the 1st crash, so we decided it may have been guilty for the first crash. You may wan't to try to re-enforce the servo mounts. One way I can think of would be to cut out another identical mount, and laminate it to the original. If I remember it is slot keyed into the ribs, so on the doubler you would probably have to either leave off the tongue that fits into the slots in the ribs, or make the slot in the ribs big enough to accept a double thick mount, if there is enough wood to do it with out compromising the strength of the ribs. Always glad to help if I can. Garry

I disagree on the slam you are giving ball links. I use them all the time and find them much more reliable than clevises. I have them on some 1/4 scale planes I have been flying for over 10 years, one with a Quadra 72 on it. I use them on elevator and rudder as they are more precise than horns and clevises and have much less friction and end play. As with most things, there are quality parts and cheap parts. If you buy the quality parts like DuBro or other name brands, they are more reliable than clevises. In places where there is a slight offset or twisting motion when throws are great, they are superb.