Official Freewing Twin 80mm/90mm A-10 Thunderbolt II Thread

[xviper]

Don't ya hate it when something like this happens. When it gets resolved, it'll turn out to be something really simple. At least, one can hope.

[crxmanpat]

Brad,

Have you tried calibrating the ESCs to your TX throttle?

[Chkwoot]

Are ailerons, flaps and rudders supposed to be lined up since stock rods are installed in the neutral positions? Do I have to adjust them to line up? Or leave them like this. I’m not sure about that. Thanks in advance.

[Dirty Dee]

LAU-117 and AGM-65 are up on thingiverse for anyone wanting to print some

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2966162

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2966163

[RCjetdude]

Are ailerons, flaps and rudders supposed to be lined up since stock rods are installed in the neutral positions? Do I have to adjust them to line up? Or leave them like this. I’m not sure about that. Thanks in advance.

Adjust as needed to get everything lined up.

[xviper]

Are ailerons, flaps and rudders supposed to be lined up since stock rods are installed in the neutral positions? Do I have to adjust them to line up? Or leave them like this. I’m not sure about that. Thanks in advance.

You ALWAYS do the final adjustment after binding and everything powered up and all trims in the neutral position. Never assume that they are as is out of the box.

[fhhuber]

Take 4 "identical" transmitters. Bind to the same aircraft with trims centered. The control surfaces will not all be the same position.
There are minor (usually) deviations in electronic parts The most common tolerance for a resistor is 5%. 5% variation on the stick (its a variable resistor) is a large deflection of the control surface. But if you compare a 5% high to a 5% low... you have DOUBLE the difference in "center" without use of trim.

Then there's the deviation of the centering pot in the servos.

The factory set the control rod lengths based on their test rig, when they tested with one set of servos. From there, they make all the pushrods exactly the same.

You'll practically never have an PNF or RTF that doesn't need some trim. Usually its not much. Sometimes its a lot.

[crxmanpat]

LAU-117 and AGM-65 are up on thingiverse for anyone wanting to print some

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2966162

https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2966163

Thank you sir! These will be in the print queue!

[Hardway]

Take 4 "identical" transmitters. Bind to the same aircraft with trims centered. The control surfaces will not all be the same position.
There are minor (usually) deviations in electronic parts The most common tolerance for a resistor is 5%. 5% variation on the stick (its a variable resistor) is a large deflection of the control surface. But if you compare a 5% high to a 5% low... you have DOUBLE the difference in "center" without use of trim.

Then there's the deviation of the centering pot in the servos.

The factory set the control rod lengths based on their test rig, when they tested with one set of servos. From there, they make all the pushrods exactly the same.

You'll practically never have an PNF or RTF that doesn't need some trim. Usually its not much. Sometimes its a lot.

That is so correct!! Great job explaining fh!

[janmb]

Are ailerons, flaps and rudders supposed to be lined up since stock rods are installed in the neutral positions? Do I have to adjust them to line up? Or leave them like this. I’m not sure about that. Thanks in advance.

They should definitely line up. Adjust until they do - preferably by turning the ball link a revolution or two to make the push rod have the correct length (center the servo first). Then sub-trim for fine adjustment

[themudduck]

Regarding that problem with the ESC from a few posts back - if the battery you are using for testing & binding isn't fully charged, then the motors may not work. I know it sounds goofy, but at least once in my illustrious career I have grabbed a discharged battery just to do some bench testing and I was perplexed when the motors wouldn't work. (If the voltage is low the BEC will provide voltage to the receiver but not to the motors)

[Spammer]

Spammer, that is a very nice Canadian paint job , I like it !

Thanks t33jetman! Saw your bird, and figured if one could be done in white, certainly there was room for two....??? Will say though, never want to paint white on a bird this size again! Learned a valuable lesson of using alcohol markers to make a pattern, and having them bleed through a number of coats of white paint...will try pencil if there is a next time.

[fhhuber]

Note also: Clear model memory should be the first step in setting up the TX for a new model.

I helped one guy who managed to slowly add sub trim to the point where he had ZERO up elevator available due to being at the logical limit of servo travel for neutral.

[Chkwoot]

Does anyone have a setup file for Xi12 radio with 6 channel receiver I can upload to mine? I will adjust it as necessary. Thanks!

[TiredIronGRB]

Does anyone have a setup file for Xi12 radio with 6 channel receiver I can upload to mine? I will adjust it as necessary. Thanks!

Welcome to Hobby Squawk! You should be able to import the A-10 from any Gen 2 Spektrum radio.

[Elbee]

chkwoot, Welcome to Hobby Squawk. The guys and gals here are the best, present author excluded. Each time I have asked for assistance there was at least 1 response and most likely correct. Win-win. LOL. Best Elbee

[janmb]

What about your throttle trim? Is it all the way to the bottom? Some ESCs can tolerate the trim being in the mid-point, where all new model memories start of, but others think your throttle is too high for initialization. Throttle trim starting off in the middle was purely for gas engines where they have to idle. Electrics don't need to idle and the trim should always be lowered to the bottom.

It is definitely correct that middle trim may fool certain ESCs, at least until you get the throttle range reprogrammed in said ESC. But as a general rule, for electrical setups where trim really has no place what so ever, it should simply not matter.

I must have had over twenty electro models over the last few years and never had to mess with trim at all, always left it in center.

Also consider this: Futaba has a default range on its channels of about 70% compared to the full possible range. While most brands designate the full range (from approx 1000 ms in the lower end to 2000ms upper) as +/- 100, on futaba this is actually +/- 152ish. And the radio still defaults to +/-100 as range for each channel, meaning you actually use far less than the full channel range normally. Which in many cases is fine. It would however lead to serious issues with the ESC lower throttle point as you mention, if this was indeed a common problem. Compared to a radio defaulting to using two thirds of actual range would be a far bigger problem than the few percent off you could possibly get using trim.

[Elbee]

Hey Y'all, I am doing my final trim settings while programming my Tx and my elevator servo arms are mismatched at their centered position, i.e., one is straight down and the slightly forward, obviously by one notch. I don't foresee this as an issue since I do not think I'll use the full throw of the servo, but if I need to remove the servo arm and reset it, I will not be pleased but I will do it. Is this a concern? Best, LB

[Hardway]

I used sub trim to match the arm positions, then adjusted the pushrods to match up even on the elevator positions ( port and starboard) In other words, both elevator arms are slightly off center, but match each other. Not the best solution, but better than pulling the servo for one notch that may not match the other direction after all the trouble... BUT, they do need to match so you don't have uneven elevator movement. That will induce roll at greater deflections...

[Elbee]

Hardway, You're right about the lesser of 2 weevils, the slight induced roll corrected with aileron would still catch up with me someday/somewhere/somehow and pulling the servo arm even if I only notch the elevator, is still not a great solution. Sub-trim it is. Thanks, Hardway. Best, LB