Servos in a Spirit Elite

[Wave Glider]

Random question, but does anybody have any servo suggestions for GP's Spirit Elite? GP's website says hobbico cs-12's which are basically a hitec hs-81 (I make all my radio refernces in hitec's servos!). I was thinking maybe use those all the way around or possibly using hs-55's in the wing to save some weight. I'm just worried about the minimal torque of 55's if I plan on sloping this bird. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

[spudTC]

I'm very interested in this as well... getting near finishing up my Spirit Elite kit. Wave Glider, are you building a kit?

[Soar_dude]

Try the HS-65 the have more torque HS-81 will also work too.

Soar Dude

[cynjon]

I've got 6 HS-81's in mine...they work fine. Only downside to the HS-81 is that they are notorious for their poor centering and they like to "buzz" as they hunt for center.

HS-65 is a much better servo, not as powerful but should be plenty for the Spirit Elite.

Personally, I think the HS-55's are inadequate for the SE...I'd use something bigger.

[BrianSmith]

I assembled one and used the CS12s all the way around and was very pleased with them. Brian

Random question, but does anybody have any servo suggestions for GP's Spirit Elite? GP's website says hobbico cs-12's which are basically a hitec hs-81 (I make all my radio refernces in hitec's servos!). I was thinking maybe use those all the way around or possibly using hs-55's in the wing to save some weight. I'm just worried about the minimal torque of 55's if I plan on sloping this bird. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

[Wave Glider]

spud, No I'm not currently building one but I'm considering buying one pretty heavily, it looks like a great plane for the money and I wanted some input before I purchased mainly to see how much more i'd have to spend on servos.

Brian, do the cs12's have the same tendencies as the hs-81s with the buzzing and the hunting for centering?

[jwhitacre]

I had hs-81's in the fuse and hs-65hb's in the wing of mine and they worked great. The 81's buzzing can be kinda annoying though :rolleyes:

[BrianSmith]

I used the MG version and noticed very little buzzing/hunting for a center. As I mentioned I was very pleased with them. I think they are a great servo for the money. Brian

spud, No I'm not currently building one but I'm considering buying one pretty heavily, it looks like a great plane for the money and I wanted some input before I purchased mainly to see how much more i'd have to spend on servos.

Brian, do the cs12's have the same tendencies as the hs-81s with the buzzing and the hunting for centering?

[aeajr]

I thinik the Spirt Elite is one of the best value planes around. We have had several in our club and I was always impressed. For the price for a 2M full house plane they are hard to beat.

Things to consider:

HS-125s are no good, don't consider those.

From a centering point of view, digital servos tend to center better than analog servos. The HS-5065 would fill that bill and they are metal gear servos. Centering is most important on the elevator servo so put the best you can afford on that. Maybe HS-82s would be better that the HS-81.

For the wing servos, from a torque point of view, HS 82s, 81s, 65s or CS12 or 5065s should be fine. Flaps are always subject to stress on landings so go for metal or carbonite gears on the flaps, not nylon.

HS-55s would be just OK for the ailerons if you are hi-start launching but I would want something stronger on a winch, especially if you are going to use full span camber on the launch.

Those are the considerations.

Lightest all around with best centering is the HS-5065.

Lowest cost, probably the HS-81 with 82MG on the flaps.

Mid point, the HS-82MGs all around or Or CS-12s with CS-12MG on flaps

[spudTC]

Just to double check, these would work fine in a Spektrum AR7000 receiver right? Also, any recommendations on where to buy these?

[aeajr]

Spektrum AR7000 would be fine.

Your local hobby store.

[cynjon]

HS-125s are no good, don't consider those.

Ed, did you know that Hitec has improved the HS-125/HS-5125/D168 geartrain? The cheezy pot-metal gear is gone now (the achille's heel of this servo), replaced by a brass output gear which should improve the servo immensely. The upgraded servos are hitting the market now--if you order from a place that has the capability to check first, make sure you have them check to make sure they send you the ones with the new gears. Glad to see that Hitec is listening to the customer!

[Freakflyin]

HS 81 sized servos are ideal but I would highly recommend MG's for the flaps. I modified mine with a X-tail and use an 85MG on elevator for the additional power. Keep it light.

Mike

[rduder]

Ed, did you know that Hitec has improved the HS-125/HS-5125/D168 geartrain? The cheezy pot-metal gear is gone now (the achille's heel of this servo), replaced by a brass output gear which should improve the servo immensely. The upgraded servos are hitting the market now--if you order from a place that has the capability to check first, make sure you have them check to make sure they send you the ones with the new gears. Glad to see that Hitec is listening to the customer!

I have several older HS125's that are sloppy & useless, and I plan to rebuild them. The the HS-125/HS-5125/D168 geartrain REBUILD kits still have the cheezy pot-metal gear train (until Hitec renews their inventory). I really wish they would sell the new brass output gear by itself, instead of paying for 6 gears.

[thermalsurfer]

I was thinking maybe use those all the way around or possibly using hs-55's in the wing to save some weight. I'm just worried about the minimal torque of 55's if I plan on sloping this bird. Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

I've had two of these planes (ARF version) and they are wonderful soaring planes for the money. I used HS 55's on the ailerons but made some fiberglass servo covers to protect the exposed arm and horn on the ailerons. The arm and horn on the first one would sometimes catch on the grass, stripping the gears. The torque is plenty for this application. The ARF has a steel rod joiner, and with no head wind, I stand full pedal on the winch with no problems. I also set it up with a releaseable tow hook for aerotow. I do recommend metal gears on the flaps if you plan to do full 90 degree deployment as the flaps can drag in the grass on landing. I have standard HS 81's in the fuselage. IMHO there is no reason to use a high torque, high speed, and exact centering servo in a 2m sailplane. The low speed and the slow aerodynamic response of the flight controls negates any benefit of such.

[Wave Glider]

Thanks for the input folks! I think I might go with the 81's and the MG82's on the flaps. Mainly because I already have 4 81's, that'll minimize my servo expenditures. I think if this was a $600 TD moldie I'd might be looking more for high class servos like the digitals or the 85MG's, but I think just for some sunday flying and what not the standard 81 will be just fine in this plane. Thermal surfer, where did you get the servo arm covers from? I've made them before out of plastic spoons lol but what you have looks a bit more high class!

[Ricardo RW]

...I modified mine with a X-tail ...

Mike
Interesting, could you please give me more details about that? Pictures?

Thanx in advance.

[aeajr]

I've had two of these planes (ARF version) and they are wonderful soaring planes for the money. I used HS 55's on the ailerons but made some fiberglass servo covers to protect the exposed arm and horn on the ailerons. The arm and horn on the first one would sometimes catch on the grass, stripping the gears. The torque is plenty for this application. The ARF has a steel rod joiner, and with no head wind, I stand full pedal on the winch with no problems. I also set it up with a releaseable tow hook for aerotow. I do recommend metal gears on the flaps if you plan to do full 90 degree deployment as the flaps can drag in the grass on landing. I have standard HS 81's in the fuselage. IMHO there is no reason to use a high torque, high speed, and exact centering servo in a 2m sailplane. The low speed and the slow aerodynamic response of the flight controls negates any benefit of such.

Just note that he said with no head wind. That is zero wind velocity. While the wing is not fraglie, I have seen several explode, literally, due to too heavy a foot on a strong winch into a moderate breeze of 6-8 mph.

It is a great value and a great plane but don't treat it like a high end contest plane or you will be looking for replacement wings. :(

[thermalsurfer]

Thermal surfer, where did you get the servo arm covers from?

I made a mold and did a couple layups of epoxy and 3 oz fiberglass. I think I have the mold around here somewhere. I can loan it to you if you wish, send me a PM if interested. There are commercial versions too, maybe Hobby-Lobby ??

[lincoln]

I don't quite get this. Two meter gliders roll faster than larger gliders, so you might want MORE servo speed. And if the two meter is clean, there's no reason for it to be all that slow. I'd say it depends on the glider. Of course, less torque is required with the smaller surfaces.

On the other hand, I'm not familiar with the Spirit Elite. If it's a dog, then the above wouldn't really apply all that much.

If I was looking for a cheap full house glider, I think I'd get some Arthobby product.
snip
IMHO there is no reason to use a high torque, high speed, and exact centering servo in a 2m sailplane. The low speed and the slow aerodynamic response of the flight controls negates any benefit of such.

[thermalsurfer]

[QUOTE=lincoln]I don't quite get this. Two meter gliders roll faster than larger gliders, so you might want MORE servo speed. /QUOTE]

Let's assume the full deflection roll rate from 45 degree left to 45 degree right is 2 seconds. A HS 55 has a transit speed of .17 seconds. Compare that to a much better servo - say we sub in a HS 65 MG with a transit speed of .14 seconds. The actual increase in roll rate is only about 1 percent.(2.14 vs 2.17 seconds) If we compare prices, (HS 55 @ $14.00 vs, HS 65 MG @ $36.00) this is 250 % premium for a 1 % increase in performance. I agree with aeajr that good centering is desirable in pitch but I rarely fly straight with a sailplane, and if your turning, you're constantly adjusting pitch too. My point was that putting top end electronics in a run of the mill airframe is not worth it. With the exception of when I flew heli's, I've never noticed any difference in my flying using high end servos vs the cheaper ones...though one could argue they are more reliable (i.e. the metal gears).

[Wave Glider]

Heres my "spoon servo covers" I talked about. Here's pics for you Ricardo, I searched high and low for a damn plastic spoon (who doesn't have at least one in their house other than me!!) to show you how I cut it but I think from these pics here you can pretty much see whats going on. On this particular set-up they're on an EZGlider. I cut the spoon with a finely serrated blade like a hobby saw a little past where the curvature of the spoon is the widest, i.e. where there spoon starts to get narrow again. And then I glued it on the wing with some foam safe CA but I'm sure you can glue it with whatever is most applicable to your building material.

[lincoln]

My point was that if anything, a two meter needs faster servos than a glider with larger span. I wasn't saying to blow big bucks on a cheap glider. BTW, a guy in our club who was working on electronic pitch stability measured transit times and said they were all optimistic. By a lot.
[QUOTE=lincoln]I don't quite get this. Two meter gliders roll faster than larger gliders, so you might want MORE servo speed. /QUOTE]

Let's assume the full deflection roll rate from 45 degree left to 45 degree right is 2 seconds. A HS 55 has a transit speed of .17 seconds. Compare that to a much better servo - say we sub in a HS 65 MG with a transit speed of .14 seconds. The actual increase in roll rate is only about 1 percent.(2.14 vs 2.17 seconds) If we compare prices, (HS 55 @ $14.00 vs, HS 65 MG @ $36.00) this is 250 % premium for a 1 % increase in performance. I agree with aeajr that good centering is desirable in pitch but I rarely fly straight with a sailplane, and if your turning, you're constantly adjusting pitch too. My point was that putting top end electronics in a run of the mill airframe is not worth it. With the exception of when I flew heli's, I've never noticed any difference in my flying using high end servos vs the cheaper ones...though one could argue they are more reliable (i.e. the metal gears).

[server28]

...
Personally, I think the HS-55's are inadequate for the SE...I'd use something bigger.

I use HS-55 for aileron - it is good enough. For flaps I use HS-81. All levers are covered to avoid graund hits.

I think the choice depends on your flight style.