Hey guys,

The Komander I am building calls for a cable for the throttle linkage. How does this work? It seems like it would pull back to open the throttle, but if I would go to close it, I would think that the cable wouldnt be enough pressure to close it as it isnt a rod.

I don't know if that made sense. I am just confused as to how this is going to work.

Thanks!

i would use a cable that was inside a sleeve that way it uses the sleeve for stiffness.....

Krayzc-RCU is right. I use that setup on all my planes and I fly 90 size four strokes. It is easy to route as there is some flexability in the setup. Three things to remember

1. use a throttle cable kit. The size and stiffness is important.

2. Use care in where you penetrate the fire wall as you can't but a couple bends in the cable to adjust for an out of alignment hole. Also, make sure you keep the outer sheith as long as possible. This prevents the cable from trying to fold.

3. Solder a #2 end on the cable at the engine end. Use a minimum of solder so it doesn't weep back along the cable . The solder should only be visible right at the cable end. On the servo end, use one of the EZ links on the servo and use just a spot of solder in the end of the cable to keep it from unraveling. Heat the solder up to a flow and imeadly wipe it off with a cloth rag. This keeps the solder to a minimum and makes it easy to feed the end through the EZ link.

DOn

Yes, the cable runs through a plastic sleeve. Here's what you're looking for:

Dubro Flex Cable
[link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD862&P=7]http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD862&P=7[/link]

Here's a tip for using flex cable:
[ul][*] Cut the cable to the correct length using a rotary tool (like a Dremel) with a cut-off wheel. This will provide a nice clean cut with minimal fraying.[*] Tin both ends of the cable using a soldering iron and silver solder.[*] Use a rotary tool with a sanding or grinding wheel to clean up the soldered ends if necessary.[*] Solder the threaded coupler (to use with the plastic clevis) on one end and solder the metal clevis on the other end.
[/ul]

The purpose of "tinning" the ends of the cable with solder is to keep the exposed cable (outside the plastic sleeve) stiff. I use this method all the time and it works great. Good luck!

Thanks guys for the info.

It just seemed like the cable would fold on itself rather than close the throttle.

Thanks for the tips and explanations.

The cable is really kind of stiff. On my 4*60, I really have to much cable exposed at the engine end, and at full shut down, the cable bows up just a bit, but that's OK. For the rest of the time, it is smooth as silk. With my setup, the pull is to open and the push is closed, and it works well through out the range of movement. Just set up your servo movement to not overpower the movement except for engine kill. Normal idle will not be this extrememe movement, so things work OK.

One thing to keep in mind with any of the throttle linkages, is to set the idle stop screw on the carb so you can shut down the engine with maximum movement of the servo. Then make sure that that movement is only reached with the shut down swith or with maximum off trim of the throttle. I see to many guys that have the idle stop set so max off is a dead idle and the engine keeps thumping along until the pull or pinch the fuel line. The engine should shut off with the kill just like your car engine does when you turn off the key. For what it's worth, the throttle linkage is the hardest of the linkages to set corectlly in my mind. At least for me.

Don

If you stiffen the cable from where it exits the sleeve all the way to the throttle linkage with solder, it will not flex. Jim