Solved Newbie here and need some help with elevator

swipis

New member
Hello I'm new here and new in RC planes. I build Simple Cub from scratch and run into problem with elevator. My elevator does not move like it should, I talking about rates. Even I set high rate on my transmitter my elevator barely reach low rate in both directions (rudder works fine). Please can someone explain to me what I missed (or did wrong) here?

Thank you
 

FDS

Elite member
Check your hinge moves freely and that there are no points where it touches the vertical stabiliser. Then look at where you put the control rod on the servo arm and control horn. The horn is the bit that attaches to the elevator, if you have multiple holes the one closest to the plane moves the surface the most, the one furthest away moves it the least. On the servo horn the hole farthest out from the servo moves the control surface the most. Also did you centre the servo first?
You will also want to check that the servo hasn’t peeled the paper off the inside of the fuselage, that has happened to me with the FT board, I now strip the paper off where I am glueing my servos so they stick to the foam directly.
If it’s not a mechanical thing then look at the end points on your transmitter, you can alter those to get more throw too.
A few clear pictures will help people sort out what’s happening.
 

swipis

New member
Check your hinge moves freely and that there are no points where it touches the vertical stabiliser. Then look at where you put the control rod on the servo arm and control horn. The horn is the bit that attaches to the elevator, if you have multiple holes the one closest to the plane moves the surface the most, the one furthest away moves it the least. On the servo horn the hole farthest out from the servo moves the control surface the most. Also did you centre the servo first?
You will also want to check that the servo hasn’t peeled the paper off the inside of the fuselage, that has happened to me with the FT board, I now strip the paper off where I am glueing my servos so they stick to the foam directly.
If it’s not a mechanical thing then look at the end points on your transmitter, you can alter those to get more throw too.
A few clear pictures will help people sort out what’s happening.
Hello, thank you for your time, looks like my problem was pushing rod was in wrong hole in horn. Thank you Sir!
 
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moret

Well-known member
If you are new to flying, less movement on your controls could be a help. The plane will respond slower. I fly a FT 3D and on purpose have the pushrods set to make the less movement. It helps to keep you from over controlling. I would never maiden with the throws set more then recommended and I would start on low rates. But I do not have a lot of time on the stick's. After you fly it you can adjust if you need more throw on a control surface

Good luck with the cub and have fun
 

swipis

New member
If you are new to flying, less movement on your controls could be a help. The plane will respond slower. I fly a FT 3D and on purpose have the pushrods set to make the less movement. It helps to keep you from over controlling. I would never maiden with the throws set more then recommended and I would start on low rates. But I do not have a lot of time on the stick's. After you fly it you can adjust if you need more throw on a control surface

Good luck with the cub and have fun
Hi moret, so far no luck to get into air this plane from the ground (hard to keep it straight in line), last evening I broke propeller. But I will get there... Eventually :)
And thank you for your recommendations.
 

FDS

Elite member
I always recommend throw launching to begin with, it’s easier and doesn’t cost props. Throw with your left hand, set the throttle just before throwing, with the nose angled a little bit up. Get a friend to throw for you if you don’t want to control just the elevator and ailerons on your first flights.
 

moret

Well-known member
Hi moret, so far no luck to get into air this plane from the ground (hard to keep it straight in line), last evening I broke propeller. But I will get there... Eventually :)
And thank you for your recommendations.

The reason I do not think the cub makes a good trainer is because it likes to roll / go left trying to get off the ground. I think the scout is a much better plane. I fly from grass so its keep full up elevator till you get some speed up, Keep right rudder, if the plane starts to go right let up on the right rubber. Throttle up slowly. Keeping the tail on the ground will help. IMHO the less the tail of a tailwheel planes needs to come up to fly level, the less its likes to roll/go left. Cub is a tall plane. As you speed comes up you will need to center your controls.

Some one here also suggested to cut the right side of the power pod 2 mm shorter then the left, then cut across the bottom to match the two sides. That also helped me a lot. I dislike the cub so much, it is no more and the parts are in a new scout.

40 years ago throttle up slow was burned into my mind. First time an instructor had me take off myself. I was way to fast on the gas and the engine choked and quit. It was only on a active runway at Memphis international. Never made that mistake again.
 

swipis

New member
Yea I think I will do Tiny Trainer but at this moment I have different motor (emax 2213 935kV). Anyway for now I will try fly with my cub :)
 

FDS

Elite member
The motor recommended for each build is on the plans and the FT store listing for each power pack has the motor size listed in the detailed description. If you don’t want to buy the FT pack, simply put the numbers of th motor into Google and buy one as near as possible to the same spec.
 

FDS

Elite member
You only need M2 screws, they are super cheap, like pence. I use M2x6 for plywood walls, get some M2 washers as well. You should keep a small stock of M2 and M3 screws, they are useful in plane builds.
 

swipis

New member
You only need M2 screws, they are super cheap, like pence. I use M2x6 for plywood walls, get some M2 washers as well. You should keep a small stock of M2 and M3 screws, they are useful in plane builds.
m2 - m3, everyday something new :)
Thank you FDS!
 
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