Aileron ID made foolproof
 

I keep reading about crashes caused by crossed control, especially ailerons because of the constant on/off wing - plug in/out. I found heat shrink big enough to slip past the servo/extension plugs. On the #1 aileron, I pushed the heat shrink past the plug until it was only covering the last 1/16" of the plug and extending 1/2 past down the wires. I shrunk it to the plug, and not to the wires. Do that for both #1servo and #1extension. Now you have what feels and looks kinda like double length plugs on ONE side's plugs. The heat shrink does no effect the ease of plugging/unplugging. The two marked/long plugs go together, as do the two unmarked/regular length plugs. Foolproof even in the dark!

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

Good idea....better than masking tape, and ball point pen !! [sm=thumbup.gif]

Flyboy Dave :D (yeah, it's me ;) )

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

I like that idea as well... I still use the old masking tape and ball point pen and the ink on some of my labels has faded quite a bit. I have heard of using stick on material in the shape of a small circle. Using different colors for the different plugs. I.e. Red on both the left aileron plug, and blue on the right... I have thought this would work, but it probably wouldn't work in the dark though. Although I would have more problems than just plugging in servos if it were dark anyway.:D

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

Paint the port (left servo) with a bit of red and the starboard (right) servo with a bit of green. Just like the running lights on an airplane or a ship.

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

I use a strip of covering material of different colors around the base of each part of mating plugs. Or you can use small, colored zip-ties around the wires at the base of the plugs. Or if you're really paranoid, reverse the plugs on one side, so one wing is male and one wing is female.

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

Flyboy Dave, "Good idea....better than masking tape, and ball point pen !!"

Funny, that was what I had done before last week... Before I discovered fuel was a great solvent for my marker! :) A smeared 1 and a smeared 6 look surprisingly similar.

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

I'm using a 9c transmitter with one aileron servo on channel one and the other on channel 7. Both servo control rods leading to the control horn are attached on the outside edge of the servo wheel. With this setup it doesn't matter which lead goes to which servo. The control surface movements are correct connected either way.

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

Of course, the obvious is typically forgotten. :D Do a PRE FLIGHT check on ALL the control movements.

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

althought I use a Tracker II , this is not true for my 2 servo set up for ailerons. If swithed around, the servos move in the opposite direction. I also use channel 6 in order to mix in flaps.

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

Get some multi colored electrical tape from Radio Shack. I mark my plugs with that. Red for right aileron, yellow for left. On my twin the throttle is marked in green. The tape doesn't come off until I cut it off.

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

I don't want to spend a lot of time troubleshooting this but I think it works with any reciever. Because each servo is driving in the opposite direction when the leads are reversed (and thus the input impulse is reversed) the movement of the control surface comes out the same direction. I've done this with two planes now and it works fine.

RE: Aileron ID made foolproof
 

I tried to draw the setup but a picture is worth. . .