Savox SH-0257MG Servo Rundown

Savox SH-0257MG

I’ve been using Savox Servos in all of my planes for almost a year now, and they have been completely incredible from start to finish. My servo of choice for all surfaces on my Extreme Flight 48” EXP series of planes has been the SH-0255MG. This servo provides 54oz/in of torque, and is an all around tough servo. I’ve decided to mix it up a bit and see if I can find a better combination, and I think I found the best yet!
I decided to go ahead and get three of the Savox SH-0257MG servos for the ailerons and the rudder. Why? Well, Extreme Flight recommends the Hitec HS-65MG servos for the surfaces. The HS-65MG provides 31oz/in of torque and 0.11seconds speed. The SH-0257MG servos by Savox provide the same amount of torque, 31oz/in, only at a faster speed of 0.09seconds! That seemingly miniscule difference in speed may not seem like much, but when you are doing advanced precision and 3D maneuvers, you can feel the difference.

Also, the Savox SH-0257MG is digital, has an aluminum case, and still costs less than the Digital Hitec HS-5065MG… which still isn’t as fast. And for the elevator, of course I went with my trusty SH-0255MG servo which provides the torque needed to swing the big elevator up and down without blowback, or the need to widen the servo mounting hole like you would with the Hitec HS-85MG… plus it’s faster.

For a motor, I went with the Motrolfly 2820-750 with 680kv. This thing running on 4S batteries and a 14x7E APC propeller has an insane amount of power, torque, and plenty of vectored thrust. The big prop provides plenty of thrust during post-stall maneuvers to enhance control authority and precision, and also has tons of power when it comes time to rip out of a hover! It will go from a hover a few inches off the ground to out of sight in a matter of seconds!

Flight Review

As soon as I took off I could notice the difference. The SH-0257MG servos are wicked fast and insanely precise! Super swift movements mixed with digital precision really make for a great servo. Also, the SH-0255MG in the elevator kept up quite nicely while using Extreme Flight’s extended servo arm . It had tons of torque, an insane amount of throw, and I really felt confident because everything was so solid and locked in.

The Motrolfly had the Edge off the ground in just a few feet and shooting towards the clouds with ease. Plenty of torque and thrust from the big 14x7 prop keeps me in complete control in all aspects of flight; and when I need a boost of power to get me out a too low, too slow situation, it has the reserve right there waiting and really comes through. The motor pulls about 45 amps on 4S with the 14x7E and spins about 8300RPM’s… plenty of thrust on a 3.5 pound airplane!

Wrap Up

All in all, I think this is truly the best setup I've tried yet for this airplane. Now dim the lights, cue the music, sit back, relax, and enjoy!

 

Specs:
Dimensions(mm): 22.8X12.0X25.4
Weight(g): 14.0
Speed(@4.8V sec/60): .13
Torque(@4.8V oz-in): 25.0
Speed(@6.0V sec/60): .09
Torque(@6.0V oz-in): 30.6
Gear: Metal
Bearing: 1BB
Case: Aluminum
21 Tooth Spline

--Tom K.

LiPo Fire

Check out my blog over at Model Airplane News' website for my flaming LiPo story. Just go to modelairplanenews.com and click on "blogs" and "featured"... then just click on my name and you'll see a short lead in to my article. Click on the title and away you go into the hot, orange world of flaming LiPos!

--Tom K.

Edge #2

After purchasing an Extreme Flight Edge 540T EXP 48", I decided it was one of the best planes I've ever flown, so I decided to get another. The first one is my dad's anyway. So the second time around I went with one of the best power combo's and equipment setups for this plane.

For a motor, I'm running the Motrolfly 2820-750 with 680Kv and a 14x7 on 4S 2800mAh G-Force 30-40C LiPo packs. It pulls about 45 amps and turns 8300RPM. This provides insane power and plenty of propwash from the big 14" prop and it literally rockets out of a hover.

I wanted a really precise handling plane, so I went with Savox SH-0257MG servos on the ailerons and rudder because they have 31oz/in of torque and 0.09 seconds speed. They are digital and incredibly precise and fast. On the elevator, since it requires a servo with more torque, I went with the Savox
SH-0255MG. This provides 54oz/in of torque at 0.13 seconds speed, and is still incredibly precise because it is a digital servo.

Otherwise, I'm using my trusty DX7 with an AR6200 receiver. Everything runs smooth and required minimal Knife Edge mixing. Here's the video from yesterday. I think my dad started filming on the third flight. The plane is so new it still doesn't have any decals. After this weekend, I'm going to go over it once more with the trim iron and then apply my custom vinyl decals by Flip Flop Graphics.

Enjoy!



--Tom K.

New Runway Huckin'

Well I took out my 3D Hobby Shop Velox, dusted it off, and brought it out to the flying field today. After one flight I felt right back at home with it. I'm working on inverted harriers (about time) and they are just too easy with this plane.

Anyway, here's the video. Enjoy!



--Tom K.

RC Clubs... Way Cool

Well, today was just another example of how awesome RC clubs are. After a day of flying our friend and flying buddy, Lou, invited us over to his house for a cookout. He really knows his way around a smoker and the food was amazing. Having a buddy like Lou is just another reason why RC clubs are pretty awesome. Not only do you have people around you that enjoy RC flying, but you also make good friends who are always looking out for you. Thanks Lou for the dinner! It was awesome!

--Tom K.

New FPV setup

Hi Everyone! I was on the way back from the field today after being chased out by an approaching storm and I got to thinking about the FPV (First Person View) setup on my LT-40. If you go back in the archives of this blog, you'll find a few of my amateur looking videos taken from the side of my LT-40's fuselage. I was thinking about how to make a forward facing platform for the camera without making it too complex.

My first idea was to build a right triangle piece that would be glued to the side of the fuselage with some dowels so the flat piece would face forward and... too complicated. My second idea was to create an "L" shape piece, then cut a hole in the front windscreen, slip the piece in, and glue it to the top of the hole and... better than my first idea, but still too complicated.

I liked the "L" shaped cradle idea, and my dad helped me construct one. We then decided to test fit it to the top of the fuselage right behind the wing. I placed the camera in the cradle, turned it on, and recorded a short clip of me waving at it from the front of the plane. I then plugged it into my computer and upon review, the view was pretty decent. There was a little bit of the top of the wing in frame for reference, a little bit of the prop was visible so you can tell which way was straight forward, and it was easy to mount.

My dad then made some triangle braces for the cradle, and we attached it to the fuse with some Velcro and a wood screw. It looks a little rough, but my dad said it reminded him of R2D2 riding in the back of the Starfighter in Star Wars. It isn't all to aerodynamic, but nothing a few clicks of down trim won't fix in flight... and when you think of it, bombers in WWII had observation domes poking out on top of the fuse and they flew fine.

Anyway, here are a few pictures. We'll see how it looks next time I bring the LT-40 out to the field.

This picture is of the camera sitting in its cradle:

This one is of the cradle itself:

Now I have a question for my viewers. If you recognize the camera in the picture as the one you own, if you could let me know how to set the date/time stamp that would be great. Please let me know at toms3dhuckfest@yahoo.com or by leaving a comment. Thanks!

--Tom K.

Summer 2011 Compilation

Hey Everyone! School starts up again tomorrow so unfortunately summer is over. I decided to edit together some scraps from different videos from over the summer and make a compilation video. Here it is!



--Tom K.