Was doing some backflips the other day.... got carried away and did one too many!!! Sent the trex 450 se v2 into the ground... blades and flybar needed replacing... but other than that the feathering shaft was fine and all... but all my servo gears were stripped!! All of them. What a pain.. I had ds 285's for cyclic and ds3400g for the tail.. this is my first crash on the trex... I've decided that I'm not happy with the idea of weak gears and went for the karbonite route... got the hs65hg and will probably get the digital versions when they become available.. the tail stripping is a new one for me!!! no gears available for the 3400 yet so I went with the 9257... running it at 6v(people seem to be doing that just fine)... has anyone else stripped the tail servo?

Of note: I always wear eye protection!! One of the blades actually flew 50 feet right into my face!!! Of all the places to go and hit!!! No injury but a very good reminder about safety!!! Good thing I had on my sunglasses like I always do!! Maybe the blade to the face distracted me from killing the motor quicker and thus the servo gears all getting their share

I have never stripped the tail servo after 29 wrecks, good luck I guess. Get HS65MG for cyclic You won't be dissapointed, I have one, . Also, to avoid stripping servos what I do is obviously to hit the throttle hold and second (and it has worked) to keep the collective at middle stick (servos will have less input I guess). I have 2 HS65 karbonit and I have crashed 15 times using this method and no stripped servos. The first 14 times I crashed, I replaced maybe 6 or 7 set of karbonit gears. Actually I have the MG servo gears sitting around waiting to replace the karbonit in a crash but nothing so far. It's just a theory but it has worked out for me.

I agree with Matador...Karbonite will strip too..not as often, but they will strip! Get the HS65-mgs and you won't strip them.

Skarn

I've heard that metal gears wear out quick and develop slack. Have you had this experience? Plus it seems that most metal gear servo's are slow. I really wish they had a digital metal gear servo with good speed and performance. That is what I need!

Couldn't tell you as I now only have around 40 flights on mine. But since everyone recommends the HS-65mg I would think they don't wear out or develop "slack" too much! It's considered the standard top of shelf servo for the TREX 450....

Skarn

I had DS285's on my TREX originally. Two of stripped after my 5th crash. Went to HS-65MG's and have vever looked back. As has been said, there is a REASON why everyone uses them in their setups!

I found that the HS-65 MG's aren't fully indestructable. Decided to fly my Rex in So Cal's famous Santa Ana winds (what the hell was I thinking???) Anyways, I put it in backwards and stripped the elevator servo and busted the landing skids. My best guess is because i was fighting it all the way to the ground. Moral of the story, Don't fight it when it's going in...

Can I get the metal gear servo replacement gears and put them in the ds285 and hs65hg? Has anyone done this? What are the part numbers?

Hey guys, almost new to the electric heli thing. I have a heli but i loved to have the TREX but in my country is too expensive. So, i was reading you just now and notice some things. How can you strip the servos? Not logical. If you use metal gear servo, will this be better? Also, that with the "avoiding servo stripped" as matador_24 said? If i understand, he said that positioning the throttle stick in neutral can avoid serious damages in servos, right? But why? I can't see how to strip a servo in helis. In cars is ok, a lot force is pushing it, but is the air forces so strong that can strip a servo?

Yes, you can I purchased replacemnt metal gears for my DS285's when they crapped on me. I never have gotten around to rebuilding them yet, though. I't's been a LONG time, but I'll try to get you a site and part #.

My thinking was opposite to most here, I bought 6 servos @ $3.99 each from united hobbies, they are 9g servos and have the same rates and torque as my HS65 carbonites. I have over 50 hard 3D flights and 2 crashes on these $3.99 servos with zero problems to date and can buy 8 servos for the price of 1 HS65. I just threw these servos on while I was waiting for new carbonite gears I had trashed in a crash and found these "cheap" servos as good as any I have used. So my new theory is ---- Trash the servo and save bending my expensive aluminum components, Because SOMETHING has to give in a crash, but as I said I have yet to wreck one of these servos.
just my 2 cents

Care to share a link? [8D]

Hey guys, you still don't answer my question. Why the servos might stripped in a crash? Is not making sense. What will force them to stripped? There aren't any metal gear ones?

You might be suprised at some of the forces that can be generated! A servo strips because the electical coil is stelling it to stay (or move) and them some serious mechanical force is applied which resists that. Plastic gears are less durable than metal or Karbonite... Maybe I am not understanding your question...

You strip the servo because you've got input into the swashplate to be in a certain position, when you crash you can hit the head / blades with enough force that the blade grips / fly bar moves and transmits that movement and force to the swashplate which in turn transmits to the servos and therefore strips them.

@Bryflyguy67
I am pretty sure the servos I bought are the HXT900-(9g, 1.6Kg/cm, .12sec) found here----http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=662
I guess they are called hobbycity now. I ordered over a year ago and the servos are now $3.65 each--cool

I have found servos are a tricky thing to get right, we want fast response speed(.12sec) but the response speed is also based on the torque. If there is not enough torque the response speed is lower, the operating voltage also determines both torque and speed as well. I am still running 5v off the Align ESC but I have a 6v bec I have yet to install, in any case these cheap servos have performed as well as my expensive HS65's did at 5v. If your going to buy off-brand components make sure you always read the comments section and be aware of the bad comments-- these are usually made by real buyers and read the specs real close.
Best of luck

Even a $4.00 servo is a b**** to replace.

I have found that the linkage rod becomes the 'weak link' and bends when using the MG'S, and they are dirt cheap and can be easily replaced or straightened. If severely bent, I replace it; takes a minute or two.

I've crashed a total of 8 times now; the eigth time very bad and that crash broke a tooth on a metal gear; new gear, servo runs like a charm.

I would upgrade all metal, IMO

I guess something has to give in a crash... choose what you want to replace huh? Are you guys breaking metal gears because you have carbon fiber blades? I'm into getting all indestructable parts... that's what I end up doing with my rc trucks... and eventually you get to a place where nothing breaks... I've got a metal head and the stronger main shaft... If i get metal gear servo's and a carbon fiber head will I end up with less broken parts or no broken parts? I wanna hear about what people are running when they 'survive' a crash.