Control horns, is it just me or... ?

[Koenig, Tom]

Keith,
Try a smaller bevel...but do both sides of the hinge line.

I do it much like Gerald. I use 3 mm stainless steel rod however for my
horns. I make sure the threads are rolled threads and not cut. I bevel both
sides of the hinge line, and then I spend a little time on the lathe and
make up a little 'cone' style rod supports, much like what you now see on
the IM hardware.

I prefer the threaded rod style 'horns'. The fine metric thread can give you
very precise adjustments when setting up a model. I do it all mechanically
first. I find then that the 'electronic' adjustment is only a few percent
either way. Sometimes I 'turn' my threaded rod by only a 1/4 of a turn to
get the exact throw I'm after, then I'll glue and lock it down.
Infact I have found great variations in accuracy in the actual servos this
way.

I guess thats one advantage some sponsored flyers have..they can go through
a pile of servos to "match" them as close as possible to each other.

I too have used the ZN, PL horns....but they limit you to the height of the
horn. There is only one place to mount your clevis. I find I cannot get the
mechanical adjustment I require from this style of horn...but they sure look
nice! Impractical in my book however. I just cannot maximise the resolution
of my radio using this style of horn.

There are some plastic arms out there that measure 8mm from centerline to
the pivot hole. I buy them from our local shop...BUT...they only come as
part of  an aileron torque rod set up. I believe they are a British brand.
The make is RADIOACTIVE. I really cant help you much more than that. I am
unaware of a website for them ( I have not looked yet!). I just use the
arms. The torque rods end up getting twisted into "art" <BG> by my three
year old!

If you get really stuck, I''ll ask what I can at our local shop. Failing
that , I can try and send some to you if  you are desperate. Just remember
I'm down here in the land of Aussies, so it too is a long way!

Good luck and zap me offline if you need any further help.

Tom



> ----------
> From: 	Keith Black[SMTP:tkeithb at comcast.net]
> Reply To: 	discussion at nsrca.org
> Sent: 	Wednesday, 3 September 2003 13:49
> To: 	discussion at nsrca.org
> Subject: 	Re: Control horns, is it just me or... ?
> 
> Gerald, thanks for the reply, your description was quite clear. 
>  
> How do you deal with the pull-pull horns for the rudder (especially
> considering that the rudder has a larger bevel to allow larger
> deflection)?
>  
> Thanks,
> Keith
>  
> 
> 	----- Original Message ----- 
> 	From: GW 
> 	To: discussion at nsrca.org 
> 	Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 9:31 PM
> 	Subject: Re: Control horns, is it just me or... ?
> 
> 	What I do on ailerons and elev.
> 	 
> 	Install 1/2" dowel in surface. starting roughly 1/8" from LE bevel.
> 	Set up drill press plate for a 10 degree table tilt. 
> 	Tape moveable surface into the aileron(elev) cutout shuck (bottom of
> surface up) WIth it in its shuck and the 10 degree angle on the Press,
> drill 1/8 hole through the Dowel starting at about the top of the beveled
> surface . This will put the exit near the rear of the dowel on the top of
> surface, but it does not matter. Shoot a 6/32 hardened bolt though the
> dowel, It will be tight, but thats what were looking for, let it tap its
> own threads as your run it in. Go about 3/4 the way into the surface and
> stop. cutoff the excess with the cutoff wheel.
> 	Attach your favorite aileron connector and clevis now, and you will
> be very close to the hingeline.
> 	 
> 	Or you can do as a majority do, and dont worry about it. Youcan use
> your CRC meter to get the deflections the same. Our really neat computer
> radios have taken alot of the need to build perfect out of the equation. 
> 	I like to do it right myself, but thats just me.
> 	 
> 	This is just one way to do it with minimal trouble, and less
> expense. Im sure others will have a better approach that works for them.
> 	 
> 	I can draw CorelDraw or ACAD file that would illustrate this better
> if anyone has an interest.
> 	 
> 	 
> 	 
> 	GW
> 	Gerald Williams
> 	Email : gw at gwair.com
> 	Webpage: www.gwair.com
> 	 
> 	Support Tony Stillman District 5 VP
> 	http://webpages.charter.net/nneville/nneville/
> 	 
> 
> 	 
> 
> 		----- Original Message ----- 
> 		From: Keith Black 
> 		To: discussion at nsrca.org 
> 		Sent: Tuesday, September 02, 2003 8:57 PM
> 		Subject: Control horns, is it just me or... ?
> 
> 		When it comes to control horns for pattern planes it seems
> to me that some of the most commonly used choices have a major flaw.
> 		 
> 		On my last plane I used the MK Aluminum Horns on all
> surfaces except for the rudder where I used the IM pull-pull horns. Both
> of these are nice horns except they have a major flaw when using a
> pull-pull setup. The flaw is that the little black plastic arm that screws
> onto the horn and connects to the clevis is so short that it doesn't
> extend out over the hinge line. I know that with pull-pull systems it
> isn't *absolutely* necessary for the connection to be exactly above the
> hinge, but the further back it is the more slack there will be in the
> cable that is not pulling.  In my opinion with these horns the connection
> point is too far away from the hinge unless the horn is virtually mounted
> on the control surface bevel (especially when it comes to rudder). This
> can easily be seen in these "instructions" for installing the MK horns
> http://www.centralhobbies.com/buildingtips/mkhorns/mkhornsinst.html.
> Notice that in this picture there surface isn't beveled yet and the horn
> is almost on the edge.
> 		 
> 		On my new plane I wanted to avoid this problem so I did some
> searching to find a better solution. To begin with I looked for a longer
> arm to connect to the MK horn, one that would extend out to the hinge
> line. I found two options from Sullivan but both require too big of a horn
> thread (6-32 and 8-32). My search then led me to two other choices that
> seem to be good alternatives. The first is the ZNLine aluminum control
> horns, but these are apparently only distributed by ZNLine (
> http://www.znline.com/produits.php?langue=english&cle_menus=1025879382&cle
> _data=1025901639) which means an international order. The other solution
> I've found is by RC Model Enterprises (
> http://home.att.net/~rc-enterprises/rcme_014.htm) but these control horns
> seem very pricey!
> 		 
> 		If anyone could point me to a longer 3mm connecting arm that
> will fit on the MK and IM horns I'd be happy (BTW, I've used the MK BB
> connectors on the MK horn and they still aren't really long enough).
> 		 
> 		Is it just me, or have others experienced this dilemma as
> well?
> 		 
> 		Thanks,
> 		Keith Black
> 		 
> 
> 

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