Hooked-On-RC

My Feedback: (16)

Okay boys, I know this will open a huge can of worms, like most things on RCUniverse with the opinionated posters that are often found here. Note the title of the post, it has NOTHING to do with HITEC. Given the two choices I have suggested, JR 8611A Servos or the Futaba 9156, tell me which servo you would use and why...I DO NOT WANT to hear about your experiences with Hitec, I DON'T use them and I DON'T care if you think they are the greatest servo since sliced bread... OKAY Boys Git Er Done

TIA (thanks in advance)

PS these will be used on a Large Scale Plane...35% or larger. Ailerons, Elevators, Rudder

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

The 8611A has a torque rating of 260/320 (4.8/6.0V).

Futaba 9156

Operating Speed (4.8V): 0.21sec/60 degrees at no load
Operating Speed (6.0V): 0.17sec/60 degrees at no load
Stall Torque (4.8V): 272 oz/in.
Stall Torque (6.0V): 340.3 oz/in.

Futaba 9156 is new and you probably will need to buy some and play with them.

Hitec 5955TG

Operating Speed (4.8V): 0.19 sec/60° at no load
Operating Speed (6.0V): 0.15 sec/60° at no load
Stall Torque (4.8V): 249.96 oz-in. (18 kg.cm)
Stall Torque (6.0V): 333.29 oz-in. (24 kg.cm)

Hitec 5955TG has the tiantium gear set and costs less to own or maintain.

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

Nice reading skills....



I use the 9156 in my 40% and they are very nice... No slop after a season of IMAC.. and one fo the nice things is that the ratings are actually the low end for what the servo actually does....

while others are a theoretical while the servo is still cold reading.....

I am VERY pleased with my 9156's

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

Thanks for the input. I do not know 9156 has been out for a season.

Johnny Mojo

I'm a JR guy, but have used many Futaba servos on my smaller planes. Given the information supplied, I would not hesitate to use either one. Doesn't really help your question, but at least I didn't bring up the H word

J.

exeter_acres

My Feedback: (2)

LOL....

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

I know. The reason I added info on the H servo is to put the comparison in perspective. The specs are interesting by themselves enough. I have been away from Futaba servos for a while and have to admit 9156's numbers are great.

Of course, the fist follow-up question is how 9156's gears hold up.

Hooked-On-RC

My Feedback: (16)

Well when a servo or servos cost you an entire $4000.00 airplane I would suggest they cost a lot to maintain, hence why I no longer use them and are NOT considering using them ever again regardless of their ratings!

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

I'm going to leave up front product cost out of my decision factors for this one. In a multi thousand dollar giant scale anything, scrimping on equipment to save a couple hundred at the end of assembly doesn't make any rational sense when the end sacrifice would be the total loss of the aircraft.

If, and I say if, I was going out to buy a quantity of servos to set up a new giant scale plane, and I did not want to replace gears every 20-50 3D flights, and if I was intolerant of gear train free play, be it when new or slightly used, and I wanted the longest possible lifespan for the servos (like 200 plus hours), my choice would be the Futaba.

Now if any of the above factors was to be over looked, especially replacing gears periodically and accepting free play, then I would go with the JR. The only people that don't know about rapid gear wear in an 8611 are those at JR. Other than that, great servos.

Now if I wanted bullet proof gears, no gear train free play, programmability, and could accept a slight lowering of torque during prolonged high deflection maneuvers, then the choice would be Hitec.

Each servo has advantages, but at the moment the advantage is split primarily between Futaba and Hitec. Hitec takes the lead in programming, Futaba takes the lead in highest quality and longest usable duration.

Sorry to have included Hitec but it was inevitable that it would happen. Hooked, Hitec has gotten a lot gotten better than when you, me, and others lost planes, and are, imo, a viable choice for large scale planes...It's been quite some time since those days and Hitec stepped up to the plate and made the improvements required for quality and reliability. You just don't hear or meet people using the new Hitec products experiencing what we did anymore. Those days are long past and those of us that left Hitec behind are missing out on some good products now if we fail to reconsider.......

...but the Futaba line is the winner in accuracy, reliability, and durability in the "industrial" use aircraft category by quite a margin

wingburner

My Feedback: (17)

Hooked, I have run JR 8611,8611a and 8711 sevos for the last 5 years with great success..I am in the process of building another Carden and I've opted for the new Futaba 9156s this time..Not because I don't like JR, but because Futaba makes extremely good products as well..I have not flown with them yet but have done some bench testing and all i can say is wow..Extremely smooth gear train, with no slop where the JRs exhibit a little slop right from the get go. Very responsive and seem to be right up there with power output.

There have been some already using them with great success..They've only run them for a season but there's no complaints from anyone, only praise..I read early last summer where they had some gear issues and they apparently corrected that immediately and updated all servos that had been sold...A bit of a pain for some i suppose but at least they corrected it.

You won't go wrong with either..I'm with you on brand H

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

Tiantium gears will remove gear replacement out of the equation. To me, it is definitely a plus.

Replacing gears costs $$ as well as down-time. Slopy gears render less precise flying.


If tiantium gears are available with JR or futaba servos, will it be rejected?

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

I believe if you tried metal geared Futabas you would find that notable gear wear does not become evident for a hundred hours of use or more, and then is at worst minimal in a correctly set up aircraft. Many frequently remove Futaba servos from flight surfaces that have been in service for several hundred hours of heavy use, during regular maintenance, and I have no reservations about using them again in personal aircraft. There's generally nothing wrong with the high time servos. I have a feeling if Futaba was to advertise something like that few would believe it but many see the truth of it constantly.

To answer your question, yes, gear wear does play a part in servo consideration, but when that gear wear would become apparent is also a factor. The no brainer is a servo that exibits play when brand new, or that has notable wear after relatively few flights. I don't know of that many sport aircraft that reach a 200 flight hour life cycle so I can't compare with Hitec titanium servos. However, the Futabas make that point quite nicely without using titanium, so what do you do?

I suppose determining what speed and torque values are required and selecting the servo that best fills the parameters is the way to go. I use all three and in the right application find each type useful. As always, how the servos are installed, linked, or matched makes all the difference in the world. Servos poorly set up will not perform or last equal to those that are set up correctly.

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

What is the average # of flights before a Futaba metal gear set should be replaced? What is the number for 9156 in particular?

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Unknown at this time. If they provide the same quality of product with the 9156 as they do everything else I can't see why not. Bill Hemple would be able to provide more enlightenment with this particular servo. In any case, the 9156 will provide high quality performance at least equal to anything else currently on the market. It still comes back to what an individual needs for the application. Personal preferences also play large in the final decision as we've all seen and experienced.

tailgunner4444

My Feedback: (1)

Hi Guys,
Good info, thanks
I'm just breaking into giant scale with a slightly used Yak54 30% and I have to say I'm not encouraged by the slop I'm experiencing on the Jr 8611A's. I couldn't believe the flutter I was seeing on slow straight level passes. On the ground there was just a slight amount of slop in all of the control surfaces except the rudder. Brought it home to inspect more closely really expecting a linkage problem and was really dismayed to find it was in the servo. This plane has only 25-30 flights on it and the servo's are already wearing out, geez, $35 bucks for new gears !!!! This is not good. Oh by the way, the rudder that didn't have the problem? Well it's a Hitec 5955TG. Why would I keep spending tons of money on gears? Flutter kills planes, guess I'm going to save my plane and buy different servos and enjoy the short flying season we have in Vermont instead of worrying how many more flights I have before it's time to change servo gears again.

Al

Tired Old Man

My Feedback: (1)

Interesting that you've already noted this 8611 phenomena. The only people I'm aware of that have not noticed this gear wear problem are the ones selling them wholesale. They've told me and others that theirs work perfectly for hundreds of flights.... I guess I've become spoiled. If I can't have solid and consistent servo performance from every servo for 75 hours or more I can't justify buying the product.

Foamie servos are an exception. Those planes, flown to their limits, should never make 15 hours, total life cycle. If you aren't crashing a foamie you aren't flying it hard enough

bodywerks

My Feedback: (4)

Yeah, notice the term "Stall" thrown in there. The 5955's only have a minuscule 180-220oz.in. of usable lifting torque. I still use them on occasion, but after actually using 8611a's (even with their little bit if slop), I would choose them in a heartbeat over the hitecs for their better centering ability alone (again, even after accounting for the gear wear).
Really, though, Hooked needs to be comparing the 8711 to the 9156's, IMO. The geartrain on the 8711 seems to be more robust and the power is phenominal. Honestly, I am considering a mix between the 8711's and the 9156's on my next plane.

Rcpilot

My Feedback: (78)

I'd use either JR, Airtronics or Futaba in my giant scale planes. I haven't experienced the gear slop from JR. I'm not saying it doesn't exist. I just haven't experienced it. I have 8411s with hundreds of flights on them. They're fine. No slop. Maybe I'm lucky? Maybe I glue my hinges in so that there is no glue on the pivots--thereby reducing overall load on the servo? Maybe I set up my linkages and control surfaces different than others? Maybe it's because I seal all my hinge lines? I don't know. I haven't had to replace a gear set in a JR8411 in 5yrs of flying them in giant scale airplanes with gas engines.

I've SEEN a sloppy JR8411 on someone elses plane. Looked like it was falling apart. But I didn't inspect his setup too closely. I was trying to get AWAY, because he was highly upset and I didn't want to be around him.

I have other Futaba servos, just not the 9156. I've been using the 9351 digital. It is comparable to the JR8411. Similar torque and speed on both servos. Metal gears and coreless motor. They work fine. No gear slop problems. Good holding power.

I also use Airtronics servos in GS planes. The 94758Z is a good servo for ailerons and elevators on 27% and 28% planes. Metal gears, coreless motor. 115oz torque.
The 94731 is okay on 6V. It puts out about 100oz torque. Plenty for an aileron on a 27% or 28% plane. Coreless motor, plastic and metal gears.

I won't use a H servo in anything bigger than a 60 size sport plane. The cheap $14 specials work just fine in smaller planes.

nonstoprc

My Feedback: (90)

I foiund neither centering nor slop problem with my Hitec 5945s or 5955s and are happy with their performance.

If a little bit of slop is acceptable to you, I am fine with it :-)

The choice of servos depends on the application.

I would never say I will not purchase JR or futaba servos but for now I will stay with Hitec because of their price-performance.