I'm putting together a Twist .40 and have come to the point of adjusting control surfaces. I was thinking of ordering a throw meter and wondered what you guys thought of these. [link=http://www.aero-works.net/store/detail.aspx?ID=274]Throw Meter 1[/link] or [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXK260&P=ML]Throw Meter 2[/link]. Or if you guys have any other tips on getting accurate throw adjustments.

I use #2.
And as far as accuracy is concerned, close is good enough.
Throws are only a suggested starting point and once you fly the plane you make adjustments to suit yourself.

Yep, what Missleman said. You can spend money on control throw meters, but a good ole ruler will do just as well to get you going. Save your money and set your throws with a ruler.

Ken

Personally I'm tired of holding a ruler up to my surfaces and measuring the distance from a small point on the wing/stab that could be imperfect. 10 degrees is 10 degrees, and if the meter will hold itself on the surface than I'm game. My next order will definitely have a throw gage (and an incidence meter too)

I feel the same way gaRCfield feels, this is my 5th ARF and up to this point I've used rulers, but I want something a little more user-friendly and accurate. I really like the Aeroworks throw meter. Does anyone out there own one of these?

I found that the throw meters don't like to stay in place on a very thick cord wing. I ended up using a ruller. Agervates my wife though when she comes home and find a model and my Combination square on the dining room table. My bench isn't big enough to put an assembled plane, setting on it's wheels, on. I guess I could build smaller ones,, No that not going to work.

Speaking of benches, there is an ad in todays clasified in our local paper for a slab of granite 68 x38 for $100. Sure wish I had room for that bench top.

Don

68x38 should fit nicely where your bed is. Don't you have a couch to sleep on? Just kidding - sounds like it would be a beautiful surface.

I rarely even read the section of the manual that states the surface throws. I just use the TLAR principle.

I may know the TLAR principle but this early in the morning its going right over my head. So what do you mean? Campgems what do you think about the Aeroworks throw meter? You know that they make large planes so maybe this ones a winner.

TLAR=That Looks About Right.

If I'm right the TLAR principle is Thats Looks about Right. At least thats how I do it.

Hi!
I never use anything than -"It looks good"!

For people setting up A simple plane with A single elevator and A one servo aileron basic set up the TLAR may work for you. I have used the old floor and ruler A number of times myself. However, if you have two servos on your split elevator and A servo on each of your ailerons then maybe you should rethink this. I have been making and using my own meters for years, very simple to make and work every bit as well as the 20 and 30 dollar meters you can buy. You can make them to clamp on or sit on, your choice. When you are setting up A more advanced plane making sure your control surfaces are zeroed to each other and the throws are exactly the same is very important compared to A 4 servo plane. I like to do loops, not roops!! The throws are A pilots choice and the instructions give you A good starting point. In my case I start at 12 degrees up and down for my high rates and about 8 degrees for the lows. That's just me, A 3-D plane sets up at about 18 & 12. My first meter was the #2 from Tower and I just gave mine to one of my students, I also gave him A set of meters and taught him how to use an incidence meter, I was very surprised at the difference on the incidence of the same ARF from plane to plane. Problem is the ARFs don't state what it should be.

beachbrada, does your model list the control surface deflection in degrees, or does it list a distance the surfaces need to move?

The aero works meter is a degree meter and the GP is a distance meter.

I have the GP meter and it works ok. Sometimes it is hard to get it to stay in place when it's clamped to a thick wing.

http://www.advantagehobby.com/produc...7&cat=0&page=2

I just found this one - for incidence AND deflection if you're looking for both.

Even though I personally use the TLAR method, some people really enjoy getting things exact.

For those of you techno-geeks out there, here is a really outstanding product:

http://www.rcuniverse.com/magazine/a...rticle_id=1030

I like to exact but at the same time I like having money in my pocket. LOL Cool gadget, but I'll have to wait till I hit the lottery.

Anyone got an idea of just exactly how many degrees you push the stick on the transmitter or how many degrees it makes the surface move when you do a roll or loop? I didn't think so, That's why the TLAR method works so well. Unless you are building a precision aerobatic machine (raise your hand again please) you don't need all that mess. Just get it about right and go fly. Adjust from there as you "feel" is needed including CG.

I can't think of A plane I have built in the last 10 years that the THLR method would work very well with. After the basic four channel plane my students learn aircraft set up as close to the way A good pattern or IMAC pilot would set one up. When they take there planes out to maiden, there planes take almost no trim but each of them have printed sheets from Pattern flying, Aircraft Trimming Charts. If you haven't seen one it's simple, you do this with your plane and watch what it does, then you make this adjustment and try it again until it's correct, very simple. I guess my hand is raised. Wow, that one little incidence meter and one little degree meter are sure A big mess. I know and see A lot of pilots that aren't good enough to know when there planes are in trim and flying correctly, they are having fun and don't care. For beginners it's A good thing to learn to do things correctly, or not. Some people just don't care or know any different, how about A hand raise from those folks! [&o]

Yeah, I've got some trim charts. Properly trimming a plane requires proper control surface throws. Even if you're not competitively flying it's nice to have a properly trimmed plane. I feel it's like saying 'well I don't race Nascar so I don't need my front end aligned...'

A properly trimmed plane is more fun to fly, no matter who you are.

Setting controls as accurately as you can greatly effect the flight performance of the plane. Some don’t care so much, that’s fine, and some planes are more forgiving than others. But consider this; move your aileron trim one or two clicks/beeps in flight and notice how the plane rolls. Retrim for level flight. Land, now watch your ailerons as you add the one or two clicks you did in the air. Notice the ailerons hardly move. Take away from this exercise that it takes very little misalignment to make a plane perform poorly.

I know the higher end more accurate throw gauges are expensive. Just use the best you can afford. And a quick FYI, it is easy to make a very accurate throw gauge that reads in fractions of a degree for under $5.

More than just endpoints/travel, you really need to be checking movement alignment across the whole throw range as mechanical misalignment will cause dual servo surfaces to track differently. I.e., both elevators move up/down the same amount at extremes, but at partial stick, they no longer match, i.e. one higher/lower than the other. Same thing can happen with ailerons, flaps, etc.

I program maximum possible throws, as far as the surface can go. Then I put 50-60% exponential on it and I learn to fly it. Use soft hands when maidening and learning and you'll be fine.

I have one friend that pulls the price sticker off his new props and calls them ballanced. What ever works for you!!

You don't need a meter to set proper trim.
Total trim throws are are a matter of prefference with a manufacturers suggested base.
If you have dual servos on any control surface and use the same servo on each and the same holes on the horns, as long as they are both centered they will move equal distances on stick input. Further if you are using a Y harness to connect the 2 servos there is precious little you can do about it anyway.
You are more likely to require any trim adjustments in flight due to the airframe itself.

Easy enough to convert degrees into distance. Open the calculator program on your computer, usually under accessories. Hit view and select "scientific". Enter the number of degrees into the number pad and then hit the button labeled "sin". Multiply the answer that the calculator gives you by the control surface's chord in inches or millimeters. The answer is the control deflection in inches or millimeters.