Flaps and faulty servos

I recently installed the flaps on my FreeWing CTLS RC plane and to do so I added two extra servos. Because I had them laying around, I put in two cheap digital servos from RC Timer but soon encountered a major problem.
This video demonstrates the fault that appeared in two of the four servos I bought from RC Timer and also demonstrates how useful the little servo tester devices can be if you're trying to work out why things aren't working quite right on your RC plane.
If you've had experiences (good or bad) with the RC Timer servos, post a comment here and share those experiences with others.

[@jeffie8696]

What a great opportunity to do a small servo test and review.

[@aviatortom55]

Enjoy your videos, Bruce. I would enjoy your perspective on flaps.

[@bmchangover]

Thanks Bruce. Would love to learn more about your flaps.

[@bobclarie]

I really appreciate your videos Bruce, and always learn something. Keep up the good work !!

[@p1ayaone]

flaps show please! love the good honest reviews

[@roedere]

The digital servo programmer/Tester are fun too. Of course with those, there doesn't seem to be a universal unit to work with programming all servos. So the fun of having more than one... Oh, Anxiously waiting on your RVJET review! :)

[@Major_plays]

Barry Cam!! cant wait. looks like a good plane for FPV

[@startazz]

Point taken Bruce and no harm was meant,maybe you could do some of the other reviews you have said about which don't involve flying just a thought,i did also say you were a busy man which I meant and wasn't taking the pee. :-) Shame the Grumpy old men have stuffed things up a little for you and the rest of us but at least you are still knocking some videos out,which is the main thing and it's much appreciated.

[@dracoinvictus]

Bruce- I have one of these and was waiting for a video on how you ran the flaps servo wires down from the wings. Hopefully you will make another video showing this.

[@Fpvdrone1325]

Do one on flaps. And great videos keep them coming

[@michaelhalliday2708]

Fantastic video, thank you! I will get myself a servo tester now! - and would love to see a flaps video.

[@amtpdb1]

Bruce: I would like to see a video on you taking the servo apart and finding out what is wrong with it. Thanks Don

[@silbay]

Funny how the old analog servos hardly every had this type of problem. Must be why I still use them in so many critical applications.

[@buchananyachts]

Bruce, its a bit of a fiddle job but opening a servo and reversing the wiring on the pot works to reverse the servo.

[@iandavidson99]

I have the FrSky Taranis - fantastic radio! However, the side slider-pots are way too loose. It's too easy for them to move by themselves, of if your hand just lightly brushes against them. As a result, I ended up programming my Taranis so I needed to flip a switch first and THEN the side slider-pots would control the flaps.

[@JonElofson]

Same thing with the Bixler 2. Either mix it with a computer radio (which not everyone has), or use a servo reverser. At least HK mentions this on the product page. Makes you wonder why they don't just mould the foam for the servos the "correct" way in the first place...

[@jchtr3ac]

Bruce, Yes, dodgy Chinese electronics will jump up and bite you at times. I always set my flap servos at full up for the "neutral" position, although I seem to see others setting all their servos at the mid-point neutral position. I've not had a problem, but wanted your opinion. Thanks, John

[@oliverg98]

Twin star flaps works really good

[@rahkopad]

I would love to see a show on flaps.

[@lumeah4]

Great vids Bruce; vote from me for flaps

[@MrClean417]

Once upon a time when I flew combat I must have bought 50 Hitec HS-81 servos and I had them on all the control surfaces. I had one plane that never would fly level. Thought it was a bad design or something. After a while I noticed a recurring event. All of the 81's would stop centering or go hard over. Even when they hadn't had any action, sometimes right out of the box. They were junk, all of them. Shame because I'd always had such good results with their other servos.

[@peuty]

Please do an episode on flap set up, I've tried with 3 different planes and still can't get the hang of it.

[@PyroChimp75]

The Bixler 2 has this same issue regarding the flap servo's facing the same way as the ailerons, I solved this but putting the flaps on their own separate channels and reversing one of then in the Tx

[@SteenPedersen]

A servotester, can I get a tester for the servotester then? :-) Another very interesting video from Bruce. Thanks.

[@MrGliderfly]

great vid ,thank you

[@DickGibson]

Where did you get the servo tester please?

[@PC9JEFF]

The multiplex fun cub, and the cmpro cessna is designed the same way. That tells you that some the people designing these a/c are not builders and flyers. They just sit behind the computer and design.

[@TonyDeuel]

You can still see the color of the bench, Plenty of room!LOL Cheers

[@cup_and_cone]

Is that servo tester capable of running unregulated 2s power through it for High-Voltage servos? I've been looking for a good, cheap servo tester for a while but haven't found one that supports 2s for HV servos.

[@cowboy6591]

I have always used the slider for my flaps too, that's why I abandoned my Spektrum 6e couldn't rap my head around three position switch. Once my elevator servo shit the bed, I set my throttle to a steady medium speed and used my flaps with slider as a replacement for pitch control. Brought her in smooth as silk, no elevator !!! The only beef I have with the Futaba slider is programming elevator trim in with the flaps. It only works on the first half or last half of the slider position. :-( Of course a good pilot will just use his thumbs. For me? Good pilot albeit the problem :-( I set the elevator response to the last half of the knob movement so when landing flap is down I have a trim down elevator synchronized with it to avoid the infamous BALLOONING!! On take off? I have to learn how to fly ah geesh....

[@doseven]

I would like to see flaps, flaperons, and how you use crow as in sailplanes. I am flying a glider type plane fpv and it is a bugger to get on the ground.

[@daturley2237]

Don't forget the programming only solution..... Flaperons! Tip stall issues, pitching moment, but easy to try!

[@extansegura]

bruce, if the cloverleafs antenas con the FPV backpacks are so good, why arent used on the transmitters and receivers?

[@mhyotyni]

Easily, he don't waste time for secondary stuff like cleaning. He just does the job ;-)

[@mick7sp]

Not really stupid, it's pretty normal for the flap servos to be apposing each other on complex models and full house gliders. They just assumed you would use a mixing radio(most modern radios have it). Not using a Y-Connectors allows for things like full span ailerons, camber and reflexing of the trailing edge. Not to mention other nice tuning things not possible when using a Y-Connectors, like programmable deferential.

[@GmailUnited]

nice servos

[@samselectronic4548]

What about reversing the servo internally, by swapping out the position of the motor and wiper wires inside the servo???

[@gailenjensen]

Tell me more about the servo tester. I could use one of those.

[@Ibushi]

I'm probably going to have to do the same with the flaps when I get the Bixler2. Couldn't you have carved out a bit of the foam and flipped the servo over?

[@reynolds26n]

Yes that would really a big help for beginners like me sir bros ... please me video on flaps and also how to program mixing for flaps .... thanks ...

[@shaynumclaynum]

Agreed, I'm new I he hobby and would love some flap information!

[@malcolmking752]

Where did you get that little servo tester? I really need one of those.

[@cup_and_cone]

You mean reverse the outer two pot wires? That's what I do too, depending on the situation. Is a lot easier sometimes... sometimes it's longer than just running a secon lead.

[@fullmetaljacket7]

Hey Bruce! Is that a FMS T-28 1400mm plane on the back? Do you happen do remember what battery were you using for it?

[@oconnor993]

That is the best servo tester i have seen yet. Who sells it?

[@mtjoeng]

I got a 'servo reverser' in a drawer here, goes in between the cable, that might work (may not , anymore, on a digital?, prob would)

[@WVRetreat]

The props I purchased from RCTimer were all consistently unbalanced. You can watch my review video for more info. Also had 1 bad motor out of 4, purchased for a quad copter.

[@tomar5e115]

Caipiranha review? Rvjet review? Update of the 32 channel Vrx?

[@DavidTelesPortugal]

2:00 One for each aileron? or one for each flap?

[@TheLipRipp3r]

Use 2 channels for flaps...then you can set center and end points via radio instead of mechanical...do flaperons...or have them operate in conjunction with ailerons to increase roll rate...many benefits to not "Y'ing" em off!

[@TilmanBaumann]

As a glider pilot I have flaps and brakes on the throttle stick. So for me proportional is the way to go. But for powered flight I would not know what to do. I have mixed my friends radio for two stage flaps on his funcub. But to be honest, it is a pain to reach those leavers. I don't know. Perhaps you power lot are just screwed. Or I need to learn throttle control. :)

[@GeorgeGardinier]

good one Bruce on flaps, would air brakes work the same but to brake the speed, and perhaps demonstrate the difference, thanks from Canada, long time watcher, not long time commenter, ha

[@mantaz111]

It would be great if you talk about flaps. Thx.

[@TimeFliesTomorrow]

you couldve used a cheap servo reverser module. Or, as I like to to, modify the servo internally to operate in reverse. Might dovetail into a good tutorial for the masses too

[@MyTechWebTV]

Do the flap video that is something that would interest me!

[@zeDoSauRus]

No throttle cut, Bruce? :)

[@BelperFlyer]

The Multiplex Fun Cub is another with mirror image servo mounts for flaps and I did the same. Waste of a channel if you need it for something else though. How do manufacturers get it so wrong in otherwise excellent models? I learned the lesson and when I retro-fitted flaps to my Hanger 9 ARTF P47 (60 sized) I made sure I fitted the servos so I could use a Y-lead.

[@cowboy6591]

I operated on my servo once reversed the two red and two green wires, that reversed the servo. You can't do this on all servos, some are epoxied for water resistance and or just to difficult. The jr55 servo was a piece of cake.

[@mafesto74]

What's up with the other reviews?

[@pkmeyer23]

There is a handy youtube video on reversing a servo with a little bit of soldering. Search youtube for "How to reverse a servo" and look for the video by Scott Burel.

[@streetlugechris]

Flaps please I need to understand how they work and the set up.

[@startazz]

Plus a few others I could mention but I won't as Bruce must be a busy man,but don't you just hate it when he says i'll do a review of this and that and the list grows and all the other reviews seem to get for gotten about,well it seem like it sometimes,sorry for the little moan Bruce. ;-)

[@GeorgeGardinier]

i forgot, i have a Servo tester, does as you say

[@SidecarHero1]

Wait Wait Wait... I thought xjet was grounded.. why are you still building?

[@andygaras]

i've purchased a bunch of stuff from rctimer, everything i ever bought from them that was rctimer branded failed (servos,ESC,Flightcontrollers)! and it was always pcb issues which leads me to think they are buying from a substandard pcb manufacturer and have no regards to quality of their product.

[@brendongyde]

I get that all the time... people complaining not enough nob movment.

[@justinmercer6822]

Flap vid please

[@tobortine]

Yes please to the "thing" on flaps.

[@solodare06]

Flap show please!

[@Mar1wan1]

Hey

[@websitesthatneedanem]

Bruce not answering his comments again....

[@cod4madass]

hobbyking sell them

[@sandsifter149]

Are you a "clean a phobe"?