Was just wondering if anyone else has had any issue with flap servos failing? My right flap servo failed, and it's maybe a month old. I've got 8 flights on the plane total.
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Hey rifleman!
. Although I don't have a P-39, it's not uncommon for a servo to fail prematurely. New doesn't mean anything anymore. You might contact Motion and see if they can do something for you, but in the mean time if you have a servo tester check the servo first and make sure it's bad and not something in the connections upline. Good luck!
Roy B. -
Yeah it's toast, I tested it directly to the receiver and nothing, the other flap works fine. But this one is deadComment
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G'day rifleman,
Unfortunately boomer is right. I have had a number of servos go to servo heaven after just a few flights and a couple that were dead when they arrived.
I have to purchase all my spares from overseas and I simply do not worry about warranty or sending them back.
One OS company I was dealing with, when I notified them of a burnt out servo, wanted me to return it, at my cost. That was fine but it was going to cost me $29 to return it [registered post] when a new one was worth $7.
They hounded me for weeks about sending the part back and all I wanted was the part number to order a new one while keeping the old one for spares. Six years on and I still have a burnt out servo and no part number to replace it. Go figure.
These servos are cheap, and while it is frustrating, it is easier to purchase a few of each and have spares hanging on the rack.
Because of my situation, I make up orders about every six months and go to either RC Castle, PW-RC or to FMS direct.
In your case, it might be easier to go to Motion. From what I have read here and on other forums, they seem very helpful.
Hope you get it all sorted out, my friend.
Regards and respect
Daryl
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Indeed I just ordered a replacement. So just a waiting game nowComment
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Replaced the servo. Everything is good to go again. Woohoo!Comment
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G'day rifleman,
Glad to see you are up and running again.
I have not flown for six weeks due to Christmas, work, family commitments [which are a pleasure] and a thunderstorm that put trees across the only road access to the field. And one tree was waaaaaaayyyyyyyy too big for us to lift and I do not carry a chain saw in my tool box.
This Sunday is looking good as far as the wind goes but a predicted top of 42*C [110*F approx] will see most of us home before lunch I would think!
Hope the weekend is kind to you. Have fun.
Regards and respect
DarylComment
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Indeed I'm hoping Sunday I'll get her in the air as well. We're in the other end of the spectrum. I think it's supposed to only reach 45f here. But on the flip side of the seasons we will have those 110f days.Comment
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Common with FMS. Check the forums on the net. I had an FMS P51. The flap servos were faulty on arrival. Second flight the landing gear servos went faulty. Third flight the tail wheel servo went faulty. Fifth and final flight the esc went faulty and destroyed the plane.
No more FMS for me.Comment
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G'day Tangy, It is quite common in some of the so called name brands as well.
I had an entire batch [12] of FUTABA servos DOA after waiting six weeks for them. [this was about thirty years ago] and the supplier refused warranty claiming that I had plugged them in the wrong way. These servos were about forty dollars each so it was a fair outlay of my hard earned cash. These were to go into a 1/6th scale Spitfire, so they were not small servos at the time.
We have, here in Australia, a Government body called Fair Trading. As far as Government bodies go, they are really good and a quick phone call from them saw my warranty restored fast.
With a FSM servo costing costing $9 Australian, we can all be fairly sure that there will, be some failures. While I know it should not happen, it does and it is a real PITA when it happens. Still the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.:D
And look at the great batch of spare parts you collect. IF, and I mean IF, the servos come from the same place. Not many parts are interchangeable from servo to servo! You can ask me how I know this if you like but I am sure you understand. They all seem to be different
However, I have over four hundred flights logged between my three FMS 1400 Mustangs and have encountered one servo failure between them. I have damaged a couple through stupidity but actual failures are rare.
I have thirteen other FMS models and have encountered three servo failures in near on 1000 flights. I will say that I am lucky that none were in a critical area and all machines made it home safe.
I have had many more failures in my only Dynam aircraft as well as a landing gear failure while testing the gear on my FW B-17. It was its very first cycle. It came down OK and then broke while retracting.
You may also be surprised as to who actually makes the electronic components for FMS. I have no idea of who does it but I am just making comment.
I think you were unlucky and I would not write off FMS models because of it. The ESC failure could have have been cause by many factors outside the influence of FMS. Now, I am not saying that you did not get a dud, but from years of experience, what I can tell you it is, more often than not, another failure that leads to the failure of an ESC. It is all too easy to lay the blame on the part that is smoking and not investigate the actual cause. I heard a pilot of a downed model loudly exclaim that the ESC had failed, destroyed the model in the crash and wrecked the brand new lipo. Nope, the brand new lipo failed and took out the ESC. It took weeks for the pilot to be convinced. Of course he was never going to use that brand of ESC again, but continues, to this day, to use the same brand of lipo.
With the high number of failures that beset your model, I would even be inclined to be looking for the 'smoking gun' so to speak. However, am I right in asuming that the model has long gone to land fill?;)
Regards and respect
Daryl
PS, I still fly with FUTABA equipment today.Comment
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I think mine had a bind in it when in the up position that was intermittent. It failed in flight lucky enough in the up position. I tried to lower the sub trim but no matter how much I lowered it, the servo still hummed. The replacement servo is all quite at all positions on both sides with the trim zeroed out. I still love this plane.Comment
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This was my only failure in an fms plane, my dynam has been excellent, no problems with it since I've owned it electronics wise. Only user error I didn't secure a battery well enough. (Didn't catch a wire that went between the battery and the Velcro holding down the battery before launching). So the cat went up nicely then pitched up then into a spiral dive it went from only 90 feet. So now since the fuse is replaced I rerouted the wires and check that before every flightComment
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G'day Rifleman,
I took my NAVY [custom paint scheme] drone control FMS Trojan for a couple of flights this morning and managed to find a stripped servo in the left hand flap. Boy did it howl when deployed during preflight. OK, problem solved. No flap landings and that is no big deal.
Now I need to find out why it stripped before I commit a new one in its place. I have a theory that I might have put the aircraft in the travel rack right on the servo horn and the slight movement of transporting has damaged the final drive cog in the servo. If so, that is my fault and not that of the servo.
Still, I had not flown for six weeks and it was good to get in the two flights that I managed.
The very strong north west wing that came up and 42*C temp sent me home to the aircon and an ice cold drink!
I always find it 'funny' just how careful we are after we have a crash that we identify the cause. I have several 'must do' things now before every flight and I am absolutely paranoid about the control surface checks. I check the controls in the pits, at the back of the flight line, on the runway [twice] and only then do I take off. I even aborted a take off one day because I did not do the last one twice and it felt wrong to me. Everything was OK but.......
Hope you get in some good flights when you next fly!
Regards and respect
DarylComment
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Indeed, I absolutely know what you mean there.Comment
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