Pilot RC 122" Extra 330SC

[Joe Hunt]

If you ever want horns All I need is the dimension from the center of the mounting block to the center of the hinge line (reach) an from the mounting surface to the holes (height). They are CNC cut so I can get down to the gnats ass.

I'd like to take you up on that from time to time!

 

[Joe Hunt]

A little epoxy on the threads and those babies ain't goin' nowhere. Although I do like the alternative much better, the bolts seem to be holding up quite nicely on the 260. I'm going to need to add a set of horns to each aileron and each elevator on the Yak. Thankfully, Tony sent me a full compliment of what I needed.

90% of the planes I've owned have had bolts. I always thought (still think?) they are the best thing going!

 

[Joe Hunt]

They are nice because they are infinitely adjustable for matching geometry.

Exactly! It's the easiest solution for synchronized servos. Otherwise you have to put the hard points in the exact right place and the control horn and the drilling of each control horn ball link hole, etc. etc.

 

[Joe Hunt]

Did I miss something?

@dhal22 was asking if there was provision for push/pull rudder servos in the tail of the Pilot RC 122" Extra 330SC... I said on mine there was not... how about on your new 50% of wing aileron Extra 330? If not, what's your procedure?

 

[Joe Hunt]

The pull/pull rudder was actually pretty easy. I...

1) took the dremel and chamfer'd a couple of ball joints real quick like to save some wear and tear on the cables.
2) I used some throw away cheap steel pushrods and the chamfer'd ball joints to make cheap easy "tensioners"
3) I cut off the end of the stock control horns on the rudder down to the middle hole. That left me with a 9/16" offset behind the rudder hinge line, but now plenty of throw/travel.
4) I broke out some of the eyelet plywood in the fuse that was in the way of the cables.
5) I did a Mickey and Jerry (Micky Mouse, Jerry Rig) rudder servo offset control arm that had a 9/16" offset behind the servo output shaft. The servo arm is 4", so is the distance across the rudder control horn holes I'm using (the middle holes).
6) I picked up some 160-lb test stainless steel cable. I wanted some 220 but they were out of stock. What do you guys think? I picked up some "double" copper sleeves to crimp on, too. I used two crimps per connection.

So, nice geometry, nice working action. The non pulling cable does not get tighter nor looser throughout the range of travel.



If anyone wants to go pull/pull rudder on this plane, and wants a super fast and easy time of it... with full travel... just get one of these:

http://www.aircraftinternational.co.../RtnTab/133/PageIndex/1/CatID/54/Default.aspx



I've used a bunch of them (even putting them on bushing bellcrank setups) and they would work perfect here... possibly even slightly better than what I did because of the thickness of the rudder.

If I had known what the situation was with this ARF I would have had one of these ready and been done in a few minutes with tons of throw and good geometry. I just thought, 2015, it's going to be plug and play.

 

[stangflyer]

I went threw a bottle of Loctite on the little screws and then the wood compressed and the threaded rod was wobbling in the hole. I had major flutter twice. I finally got it to hold but it really soured my taste for it. The plane is nice but the geometry and hardware is way outdated imho.

I think there is a right way and a wrong way to utilize this type of setup. Though my 260 isn't the newest airframe, it is still just as tight and sold as the day it was assembled the first time by Harv. I'm sure SD is not the only manufacturer to do this, however a really hard good quality wooden dowel in the deflected surface should never crush or loosen. I remember when I first picked up the 260 two and a half years ago. Through change of hands and miles traveled, the rudder control horn/bolt had been severely bent. I really didn't want to hang with it that way. Man, trying to get that puppy out was like paving an asphalt freeway on the ocean. Thanks to my crafty and quite sharp son, @Shayne Epley, I was able to get the old dowel out without any damage to the surrounding structure of the rudder. Replaced the dowel with a new hard wood dowel and a new 10/32 stainless steel threaded rod. Easy peasy. Sorry Joe, for cluttering up your build thread. I get to reading, it gets me to thinking, that leads me to sharing and wow can I share. Lol. Actually, though I have just a tiny bit knowledge, I learn a huge amount from all you others. I hate to read, but I love reading all you guys' experiences, knowledge and techniques.

 

[Joe Hunt]

Sorry Joe, for cluttering up your build thread.

This is exactly what the thread is for!

 

[Spats]

@dhal22 was asking if there was provision for push/pull rudder servos in the tail of the Pilot RC 122" Extra 330SC... I said on mine there was not... how about on your new 50% of wing aileron Extra 330? If not, what's your procedure?

Oh dang, sorry.

Most of the Pilot planes do not have provisions, some do but not the extra's but.....

On the Extra there is a cut out on the side of the fuse in the perfect spot. I just open it up a tad bigger and epoxy two small pieces of ply on each side for the servo to mount on. Pilot usually includes a few extra control horns so I use those in the rudder.
This picture is of the very first one I ever converted.

 

[Joe Hunt]

Awesome, thanks, @Spats !

 

[Joe Hunt]

So, what do you like better... 130lb test that is coated or 250lb test that is not coated?