tsawyer148

My Feedback: (8)

This has probably already been answered so sorry if it has. I was just curious as to what the manufacturer uses to determine what certain servos are better suited for. I normally use Futaba servos and have noticed when you look at the different servos on their site or the online stores, it will say something about being suited for air or surface or boat, etc. If you look at the specs., there are servos that are almost identical to each other as far as torque, voltage, speed and such but one will say it is recommended for surface and the other for air.

The question being, would it be considered ill-advised to use a servo in an airplane that is listed as a surface servo and says nothing about being for use in a plane?

Hope that makes sense.

dirtybird

My Feedback: (5)

Servos rated for surface usually have stronger gears. There is no reason they could not be used for airplanes. They are just a little heavier only.

A.T.

Post #2 +1 with exception, beware of servo designated foruse in Robots:

Digital Servo - HSR (Robotic) Servo. Do Not Use for Acro or Standard Purposes.
and those smaller units designed for 1/12 EP cars which have same torque rating as many standard
size servo but the gearsare only 50% or less in size, thus shear much faster and should not be used on
acrolarger than park fliers and 2m gliders
- always check the manufacturer's specsheet, not just that marked on box.

much moreinformation on servo FAQ available under sub sections:
"Servo - Alterations, Calculators, Databases, Leads, Repairs, Convert to an ESC or winch & FAQ."
"Servo - Digital & Brushless Servo, Programmers and Software" under

"Radio Systems, Accessories, Alterations and FAQ." at:
Alan's Hobby, Model & RC FAQ Web Links

Alan T.

Truckracer

My Feedback: (19)

An example of a specialty servo might be one intended for heli use where it may be in motion most of the time and it reverses often. These servos usually cost more than similarly rated servos intended for airplane surfaces. Sometimes these specialty servos have more expensive motors that will withstand the punishment. A heli tail servo is in almost constant motion as it gets inputs from the gyro and the user. These are fairly low torque yet extremely fast servos .... and expensive.

Surface only servos look good on paper but may not survive well in an aero environment. Of course there are many quality servos that will work most anywhere. Some servos are higher performance ones with minimum deadband, etc. yet their specs may look similar to others. Not all specs are published and some servos just get a good (or bad) reputation for certain applications.