Bob's Top Tips - Rotary Drive System setup

[@chrismaurer2075]

I am just getting into the RC airplane hobby and found your channel and had to subscribe. I bought the Ziroli plans for his giant scale p-51D and after looking at it I decided to attempt to just use the plans as a guide and make my airplane out of all aluminum. I'm in the process of making the forms for the ribs and have completed the main spar. Even if it doesn't work I'm having fun trying.

[@yl9154]

Depending how you define "Just getting into RC", you might want to consider cutting your teeth with a simple, cheaper trainer that will not require you to spend a huge effort in building. It may sound rude, but first few planes tend not to survive very long. And warbirds are not the best to learn, especially those with retracts that are always fragile (look at all the landing gear failure on You Tube, models made and flown and landed by highly skilled and experienced modelers and yet the gear collapse). Also, flying a plane that took hundreds of hours to build is an added stress that beginners can do without. It is best to learn with a plane that you don't stress over too much and save the wonderful P-51 and all the work that went in it for later. Maybe it is something you could discuss with your flight instructor or an old hand at your club. I flight mostly scratch build airplanes, and crashes hurt far more than when you can just order another one and slap it together in a few hours!

[@richardwood2929]

Thank you Chris

[@theeastman9136]

A very interesting mechanism which I intend to include in my present build of a Mark IX Spitfire. One caveat though, as others have mentioned, is the softness of the wood box into which the rod turns; rapid wear with potential catastrophic failure will occur. The box could be lined with aluminium (still soft though) or better, built from 2mm carbon fiber sheeting and fitted very closely to the shaft with a bit of lubricant. Voilà, durability and efficiency added for a modest investment. Thank you.

[@Idefix70]

If you glue a piece of plastic on the inside of the slot, top and bottom, you don't dent to wood and reduce slop over time. You can retrofit this later. Great to see these old inventions back and people using them again to hide control horns!

[@MyZxcvb12]

This is great nice clean installation. I would like to know how you hinged the split flaps

[@PiDsPagePrototypes]

Lovely to see - I've been wondering why the designs for a lot of 3D printable models don't include internal mechanisims. Leaving it all out in the airflow seems so, energy wasteful.

[@yl9154]

Where do you find brass collars? What is the brand? I have never seen any and don't find any with google. Having collars that can be soldered open-up a lot of possibilities. Thanks!

[@richardwood2929]

Not sure what brand but are widely available at all Model shops in the uk. Most are brass and have been plated so you can file off the plating on the edge to solder if it makes it easier

[@yl9154]

@@richardwood2929 Thank you!

[@thecatofnineswords]

There looks to be a fair amount of slop, given how much you were able to move the aileron manually. Have you found ways to reduce that?

[@stevennagley3407]

That wasn’t slop you weren’t actually seeing the servo actually rotate at where the piano wire joins to the control at the servo control arm

[@jeffs7915]

I like your aluminum servo mounting bracket, amazes me that so many pilots depend on a glue joint and a small wood block of the worst wood quality to mount their aileron flaps. SMH

[@BrainDeadEngineering]

You would never rotate the servo by grabbing the horn ! You should be ashamed of yourself !

[@jeffs7915]

He grabbed the servo arm not the control surface horn, You should be ashamed of yourself. Learn the terminology.

[@kf4293]

He's been flying since before you were even born. Go back to your toy quads. Sheesh.

[@Themheals]

You should have inset or inserted a 1/16 ply plate onto which that control horn sat. Enjoy picking up the pieces.