Any reason why I shouldn't use a Futaba S3004 Standard Ball Bearing Servo with nylon gears for throttle control on a 35 CC gasser?

Guess not, but I prefer metal gear servo, but that may just be me with a overkill.---Smitty

You could use the cheap servo but on a gasser you will get greater dependability and a more consistent idle with a better servo that has better centering accuracy. At under $40 the Hitec D645MW / D625MW offers excellent performance for the $ and have become my go to throttle servos. Of course there are many others on the market that will do the job quite well. A throttle servo is not a good place to scrimp on the cost as it should be as dependable as a servo on a flight surface.

All of my gassers have Futaba 3004 servos for throttle and choke.

I've used them. Never had an issue.

Thanks guys.....I got the servo as part of a 50% off deal on an R617FS receiver from Futaba USA. If I find that I need a more precise idle I'll go with the Hitec D625MW.

Same here never had a issue with them.I myself don't care for the metal gears for throttle, as they seam to have a looser center then the nylon or carbonite gears do.3004's or Hitec 475's are all I use.

Originally Posted by Tailslide

Any reason why I shouldn't use a Futaba S3004 Standard Ball Bearing Servo with nylon gears for throttle control on a 35 CC gasser?

It really depends on how you will fly the plane. Regular flying should not be an issue, but if you are aggressive 3D flyer, you will probably wind up with problems.

I could fly lower end servos on throttle when I started out, but when I got into more 3D type stuff with a lot of throttle movement, the low end servos would not take it and I started having issues, so I replaced them and never looked back.

Originally Posted by Luchnia

It really depends on how you will fly the plane. Regular flying should not be an issue, but if you are aggressive 3D flyer, you will probably wind up with problems.

I could fly lower end servos on throttle when I started out, but when I got into more 3D type stuff with a lot of throttle movement, the low end servos would not take it and I started having issues, so I replaced them and never looked back.

Exactly what I do as well. I use 3004's on my warbirds. I only had one failure in 10 years because the linkage was too rigid. Aerobatic planes get a better servo, minimum a Hitec 625/645 or better, since there is constant throttle movement and precision is a must.

Originally Posted by Luchnia

It really depends on how you will fly the plane. Regular flying should not be an issue, but if you are aggressive 3D flyer, you will probably wind up with problems.
.

Have you used the 3004 for throttle and had problems? And if not, then what problems do you predict?

Typically, analog servos make for a decent choice for throttle if you don't mind not having the resolution. If all you do is fly circles and basic aerobatics, you will probably be fine. I'm not so keen on suggesting nylon gears as I've seen undesirable issues with them on gas airplanes, but some get away with it. My opinion is that you should use a high quality metal geared servo on your throttle as it's a critical component on your airplane. You don't need a 400+ oz/in servo on the throttle (a 10oz/in will do just fine) but it's more for the accuracy of the servo.

Originally Posted by Judge

Have you used the 3004 for throttle and had problems? And if not, then what problems do you predict?

It has been a while, but if memory serves, one got so tight that it would hardly move then finally seized. Another one just completely stopped receiving any signal and went "limp" for lack of a better term. I had one other servo get stiff too, but I don't remember what brand that was. I think it was something el-cheapo. My 3004s were not purchased new, so not sure how a new one would hold up. Mileage seems to vary.

I never had any problems until I really became aggressive in my flying style. Now I only use higher grade such as Savox 1256 or something along that line. Certainly any servo can have a problem, but aggressive flying can really put them to work in ways that circle flying won't.

I have a 1256s on throttle and all around on my Mojo and it gets a solid beating every time out, of course all the servos on that plane get a serious thrashing and I run long arms at max rates. Servos have around 600+ flights now.

Originally Posted by Xpress..

Typically, analog servos make for a decent choice for throttle if you don't mind not having the resolution. If all you do is fly circles and basic aerobatics, you will probably be fine. I'm not so keen on suggesting nylon gears as I've seen undesirable issues with them on gas airplanes, but some get away with it. My opinion is that you should use a high quality metal geared servo on your throttle as it's a critical component on your airplane. You don't need a 400+ oz/in servo on the throttle (a 10oz/in will do just fine) but it's more for the accuracy of the servo.

I agree, you don't need a strong servo for throttle. I also agree with your statement about using a high quality servo on throttle. To me, that is just as important as any other servo on the plane and if you are flying giant planes doing 3D low, the last thing you want is a throttle servo to fail especially if you are a mediocre flyer like me.

Originally Posted by Judge

Have you used the 3004 for throttle and had problems? And if not, then what problems do you predict?

Yes I have had problems with the 3004 used as a throttle servo. Like expressed above, these use to be a go to servo mostly due to their low cost but after one failed (just went dead) I moved on. Others got slow, lost accuracy, etc. Over the years I've used quite a variety of throttle servos and many of them were high quality, high resolution analog servos (mostly Futaba) left over from my heli days. The resolution was noticed immediately as a much more consistent idle setting. I've gradually worn out that old stock of servos and tried a few others with mostly good results but I've really grown to like the Hitec D625MW for its reasonably low cost and high resolution. I know of no other servo in this price range that offers the same amount of performance. They work well, are dead silent and have precision comparable to much higher cost servos. I know, this sounds like a commercial but I was extremely impressed when I bought my first one for testing and over two seasons and several more servos, they have not disappointed me yet. I have about 15 of them scattered in various giant and smaller sport planes being used as throttle servos in the large planes and for everything in smaller planes. Time will tell how they work out long term ....

Well, I guess YMMV applies!!