CONTROL THROWS
 

Is it really important to mess with this or just get as much movement as possiable?

RE: CONTROL THROWS
 

If this is the first plane you've flown then you really need to set the control throws to what the instructions call for, especially for the first flights. You can adjust later on as you get more comfortable with both the plane and flying in general.

Ken

RE: CONTROL THROWS
 

I will take what Ken said a step further. Most all kits or ARF,s come with recomended high and low rates of travel for all control surfaces. These are recomendations should be adheared to as they are excellent starting points prior to the first flight. As Ken stated after the first couple of flights, you can adjust as needed, however I am thinking that you will not need to. Good Luck, Dave

RE: CONTROL THROWS
 

And I can take what Ken and Dave both said even further. Some planes can be very responsive to small control movements, and going beyond the factory recommended throws can result in a plane almost impossible for someone with out a lot of experience to control. I've seen a very experienced pilot get it wrong and have too much throw and the plane only made it through half a flight before he closed the throttle and made a landing that rendered a fairly repairable aircraft.

I'm guessing, but by the number of posts it sounds like you're rather new to RC aircraft - so stick with the factory recommended throws until you have the experience necessary to deal with increased throws.

Hogflyer

RE: CONTROL THROWS
 

You should not only follow the recommended throws, but it's very worthwhile to do a couple of other things that're done during the control system installation.

There is a rule that the connections should be at right angles. That's an important thing. Look at your pushrod and the angle it makes with the servo arm when the surface is in neutral. You should see a 90degree angle. If you don't, unscrew the servo arm and set it so the arm and pushrod are at 90degrees. Now adjust the pushrod so the surface is back at neutral. You're halfway done. Look at the pushrod where it connects to the surface's horn. Draw a line along the rod to where the rod connects to the horn and then draw a line from that connect point straight to the hingeline. The line along the rod and the line just drawn should make a 90degree angle or very close to a 90. This one is hard to fix. It's actually set when you install the horn. So do that right when you're assembling the horn to the surface and you won't need to fix it later.

Another detail worth following..... If you're assembling a trainer or any plane other than a 3D do the following. When you assemble any connection, start out with the connection for the pushrod at the servo in the hole in the servo arm closest to the servo. And assemble the connection at the surface's horn in the hole farthest from the surface. Then, check the surface movement to get the recommended amount of throw. If you need less movement, you need a taller horn. If you need more movement, move the servo connection out one hole or the horn connection in one hole. Need more? alternate which end you change by one hole at a change. That way, you'll keep the leverages in the system favoring the servo.

Do the adjusting in the mechanical hookups on the airplane first. If you need to fine tune it, then go to your computer radio. Going to the radio first is a bad idea.

RE: CONTROL THROWS
 

True, manufacturers do mistakes in kits (and those are mostly errors due to mass production and low quality control), but they do test fly their prototypes as well at the design stage, and come up with the recommend throws/CG for a reason.
These are safe settings and suppositly easy to fly :)

If you have the possibility to select different flight options in your radio (dual/triple rate), then you should keep one switch that allow reverting to the factory setup. I confess that would be impossible for the CG though :)
These settings are best to trim your plane at the beginning and to get used to it; but it also helps to get yourself out of trouble by flying a tamed mode to exit maneuvers or just take off and land smoothly, or whatever critical situation you find yourself in...

Every pilot will eventually change the throws, introduce exponentials, and move the center of gravity around, but that is done if you have a particular purpose or preference in flying characteristics i.e. when you are experienced and you know what you are doing :)


I don't know why I just assumed you are beginner, though nothing points to that :) but anyway, happy flying!

RE: CONTROL THROWS
 

You folks are right. I am fairly new to this hobby. I started nearly a year ago but I still don't have much stick time. Way too much much time elapses between flights that I can't get proficient with it. Hopefully that is going to change soon.I have soloed so i am not a complete noob.:D I have just received via santa a new Futaba T7Cap. And was wondering about all those functions.I have a 4* 40 and programed the radio for it and ran the plane with just the radio with no throws or expo. Boy that was bad, to squirrly had to get a guy to land it for me.

RE: CONTROL THROWS
 

It's also possible for extreme amounts of throw on the elevator to induce stalls or for the ailerons to induces spins. Please stick to the Mfg suggested throws. Once you gain experience you may wish to tinker with these amounts and practice at safe altitudes.