Bill. . .believe me, a molded pocket was seriously considered and deemed
impractical. Let's see. . .depending on aircraft size and the application,
possible shaft sizes among commonly available wires/rods would be 1/32",
.047", .055", 1/16", .072" (2-56 rod size) 3/32" and 1/8". Besides those
there are the metrics.
How can a manufacturer possibly know what size shaft the modeler will
select to use? How could a manufacturer possibly know what size pocket to
put in a package? If a big array of alternate sizes (the expense would be
horrendous) were offered how would a builder know which to buy? How would a
dealer know which sizes to stock?
Of course, for best operation using a given shaft size, the pocket
configuration is different for ailerons and flaps, so we are talking 2
pockets minimum, not one, if a pocket for some specific sized wire could be
settled on. How is the manufacturer to know if a pocket for flap or aileron
useage is to be included? Include both? Why should a builder have to pay
for something for which he has no use?
Sure. . .just molding up a perfectly fitting, undistorted pockets sounds
easy. However, due to different coefficients of expansion between metal and
plastic, you might have a good fit in some narrow temperature range, but a
poor one either side. Even a .001" difference is noticeable. The Formica,
SS rod combo seems very stable.
Pockets have to be thin to fit in thin surfaces. Thin molded plastic
surfaces are subject to distortion when cooling. Pocket tops and bottoms
have to be in precise parallel planes to work right and the rear must be
open in order to slip the drive shaft off the coupler to service a servo.
That is, if it is closed to assure rigidity, shaft removal is prevented.
No disrepect intended, but is there something wrong with a builder having
to do a little custom work making pockets? I swear I can make a beautiful
set of 4 in 1/2 hour. The procedure is certainly well-documented under
http://www.bmi.net/propt/rds/. It just ain't "rocket science".
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