Hi Guys,
I am planning on building a Boxer .60(I like to build). I plan on using it as a Pattern trainer and sport plane. In the instruction book It Says the servos should have at least 65 in oz of torque. I think the JR 8231s would be ideal but kind of expensive. Does anyone have any servo suggestions?

Jim

Hi Jim,

I'm not sure what kind of plane the Boxer is, but I would definately go for digital servos because of their centering capability. And be sure that they have at least 65 in oz of torque. I use Futaba digital servos in my planes and helicopters and they have not let me down yet.

~DR

The Boxer is an easy to build pattern plane. It has a foam wing and stab, and an all wood fuselage. The fuse is sort of boxey looking. It may have been designed 10 years ago but I am not sure. It is not a kit. It must be built from plans. Not having been involved in pattern in the past, I do not know how popular this design was.

Jim

If you plan on doing any real pattern flying. Spend a few extra bucks on servo's. You will be glad you did. The 8231's are nice servos. When flying pattern you will be able to notice differences in cheap servos and good ones. The planes are setup so nicely that you will actually learn to feel problems with servos not centering and such. You will overtime have to learn to overcome these teaching yourself bad habits. Make sure you use good servos and good solid linkages with as little slop as you can find and it will help you down the road immensely.

Arch Stafford

Jim,

the 8231 is a great pattern servo. If you are looking more for a budget servo look to the 811 digital that JR sells. These are very good servos with regards to centering and precision. They will not be as good as the 8231 but then again they are less than $50 each.

The 8231 is a coreless servo this refers to the type of motor and coreless are smoother and more precise. However I have used the 811's with really good success in some sport type pattern models. I like them. The 811 is in my opinion basically the top of heap as a sport servo. After this you are getting into the higher dollar higher performance servo.

I personally feel having run most of what Fut and JR have to offer in this performance and price range that the 811 is the best kept secret out there.

Saying all that. Servos are the link to you and the model. So I would say buy the best servos that you can afford for a pattern model. If $50 each fits the budget then go for it. If can swing a little more try the 8231's. Another option is to go with a high performance analog servo. The 8101 from JR or the 4131 are extremely tight precise servos but are basically the generation before digitals. These are priced at a few dollars more than the 811's but not as high as 8231's

Just because they are analog doesn't mean they are not as good as a digital anything. The precision of the analog 4131 won some TOC's back 10 years ago or so. They are good servos.


Another thing to consider is high performance servos tend to last a really long time. If you get coreless versions then a new pot and new gears is all that is needed to make the servo like new again. So these servos can serve you for years to come. I personally have 8231's that are 6-7 years old and have been in 3 different models.


Allen

I've seen 2 Boxers fly. They are incredible pattern planes! I watched one fly everything to total, absolute perfection. It was awe inspiring to watch. By all means, get the best you can afford if you are serious about getting a lot of what the Boxer can deliver. I have no idea what servos he is using. I could have asked but didn't think about it.

Allen,
Thanks for the good info. The JR811's look tempting. I saw them on line for $34. That is about half the price of the others. If they will do a good job for my application I may go with them.

Jim