Here's an experience that begs the question - do aileron servo gears strip because of a hard fast turn, causing subsequent wing flutter, or do they strip as a result of wing flutter due to a hard fast turn?
The story ... This Saturday, with my Seledkin in a dive from higher than ever before - I pulled out of the dive, started climbing and banking, because it looks so beautiful - and the wings started a'flutterin something awful. I thought that the whole plane would come apart - but I was too busy tryin to bring it under control to think too much about the ridiculous sights I was seein - both wings wildly oscillatin, makin noise. It slowed down, and I brought it down - unscathed. Turns out that the left aileron servo, an HS81, was completely stripped, and that that aileron was just a-flappin in the breeze. Amazing how both wings responded with huge oscillations though. Still, no damage to the wings. They just build these fiberglass composites so unexpectedly rugged. The linkages were tight, with zero slop. And they're still tight, even after the disaster. The servos weren't loose. I've flown this plane for almost 3 years with the HS81 servos. And I've never had even a hint of flutter, in dive after dive after dive. I'm assuming, based on my meagre experience in these matters, that the servo stripped before the flutter started. Is this a valid assumption? Or is it the other way around, brief flutter causing the servo to strip causing further extreme flutter? At any rate, I've ordered HS85MG servos for the Seledkin. This gives me ball bearings and metal gears. Tim Green RCSE-List facilities provided by Model Airplane News. Send "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" requests to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
