elevator not going back to center?
 

elevator not going back to center?

ok guys lets see if i can get my point across here.

I have a BRAND NEW plane (arf) with 2 BRAND NEW elevator servos. Elevator is sitting at center. Then I pull back on the stick, and when I let go, the elevator goes back TOWARDS center, but not all the way. (Maybe an eighth of an inch off center) Then when I push up on the elevator control, and let off, it goes back to center. However, when I start with pushing up on the elevator control, it doesn't go all the way back to center until I pull back on the stick. This has all been done on the table as I haven't flown it yet. i don't know if it matters, but the plane has CA hinges. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Usually an indication of binding somewhere. Could be a bad servo, poor geometry, a linkage rubbing somewhere, a stiff elevator hinge line, etc. What to look for kind of depends on the model and your set up. Would help to see a picture of your elevator servo and the elevator control horn.

im leaning towards stiff I do remember using a lot of CA. heres some pics http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2163546http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2163547http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/atta...mentid=2163548

You've got two separate elevator halves. (they are separate, aren't they?)

Sticking really should not affect both identically.

What brand TX do you have? It's possible the TX stick (on the elevator axis) fails to center. How much centering strength do you feel? It's possible the options for the elevator setup and for the two separate output channels going to the two servos has been screwed. Setup and start a fresh model memory and do the elevator setup first. It really sounds like a problem in the TX stick or the programming input for the paired servos.

But if you want to check binding, simply disconnect the pushrods to each elevator horn and move each surface with your hand. The chances are slim the binding would be identical on both sides, but not impossible. It really sounds like the "sticking" isn't in the plane or the servos. Nonetheless, you can also try unplugging one side at a time from the RX and see how the other moves.

I'll bet you have hi tech servos.

Is it possible the washers on the servo arms are causing the problem?

Not centering well is common for these (Tower Pro 996R). Some guys have taken theirs apart and rebuilt or fixed small flaws they found.

I bought 16 at a swap meet and was happy to sell them for a small loss at the next swap meet I went to.

It is your call.

With Hydro on the washers, really hard to tell from the photos but the washers are not necessary? As far as the Hitec servos I have never had a bad one out of many that I have had....

Me either, but my flying bud had issues with his not quite centering. Input to climb then when finished the plane still wanted to climb slightly, same on the down side. One of our very good IMAC guys mentioned I bet you have HiTech. Switched to Savox issue went away

Sounds more like a programming issue, I have such in the past. Clear the program completely and start over best way to really find out.

Looks like two different clevises on servo arms. Something is not right there.
One clevis and one ball link?

I see the elevator linkage binding at the ball link. Can you separate the horns at the elevator linkage so the ball is free?

Larry/Instructor

When the surface isn't returned to center, what happens when you manually move it there with your hand? If it goes fairly easily and stays, there is some binding or slop between the servo and the surface. That can be verified by moving it back and forth to see how much actual slop there is in the system. If it's hard to move and goes back to being off center when you release hand pressure on it, that tells you the servo is actually holding that position on purpose. In that case, you probably either have a servo pot issue or a transmitter problem.

hi every1 i just wanted to no does any1 no how to put rudder elevator all on the aileron toggle so they all work together when turning the plain as i have a spektrum DX6

If you disconnect all the surfaces from the servo (just have the servo arms on the servo but nothing connected to them) and the servo then always returns to neutral, you have a problem elsewhere (not the servo). If the arm does not return to neutral then you either have a servo problem or a transmitter problem. Switch servos then if the servo returns to neutral you have a servo problem, if not a transmitter problem.

Be careful with over doing the CA. I did this once before and the hinge was so stiff it finally broke on 1 of the ailerons. I only use nylon hinges now or Robart hinge points.

I repeat, CLEAR THE TRANSMITTER and re-program! Ir you still have the problem it's not that. It has happened to me in the past...........:D

It would be nice if the OP would come back to tell us whether or not he found the problem as that may help others solve a similar issue or at least keep us from posting in the wind as it were.

Nightbreeders- It's poor internet etiquette to ask your own question in someone else's question thread. But since you asked, the answer is don't do it. Such a mix might make basic turns a little easier, but it will intefere with everything else you need to do during the flight. Learn to coordinate your turns manually and you'll be a much better pilot later on.

Yep.. it seems the original poster hasn't made it back yet. I agree with many observations in this thread. It would seem there's a binding issue, as well as possibly hardware issues, judging by the fact that there are clearly different clevis's, and set-ups on the linkages, as well, the ball links, definitely aren't installed for optimum efficiency... I might even venture a guess the plane hasn't fared too well, which might be why nobody's heard from the original poster. Its a stretch, but from the few pics that were up there, there were some problems seemingly.