The Best DLG Servo: An Ultimate Research & Test
Looking for a reliable servo for DLG that isn’t breaking the bank.
This article isn’t updated anymore. Please check the new Best DLG Servo article here.
What’s Up With DLG Servos?
DLGs are great sailplanes.
So is the radio equipment that sits inside the plane and provides a control for the pilot.
But there is another thing about the RC gear for DLGs.
It might be quite expensive.
Looking for a reliable sub-$40 servo for DLG
I.e. the industry standard for 1.5-meter F3K glider is a KST X08 or MKS DS65K / DS75K servos which price tag starts from around $40–$60 per item.
Well, this price can be considered for competition planes, when you need that reliability and precision to equip a pricey model.
But what if you are looking for a weekend flyer?
Do you really need to through that much money into the servos?
Or if you are flying a 1-meter DLG where the price of the servos may exceed the value of the entire model?
There are some great alternatives on the market, but usually, you have to crawl RC Groups threads to find out what will fit your plane and Rx battery setup.
That’s why in this article, I’ve decided to put all these together, doing the dirty work for you.
Putting Together An UltimateTest
For your convenience, we’ve put together some comparison tests with the most popular servos people use with DLGs.
To make it informative, all the tests below will be done with the same equipment:
- FrSky X-Lite Pro Transmitter
- FrSky G-RX8 Receiver
- 1S 600mAh NanoTech LiPo Rx Battery
As a lot of DLG pilots go with the 1S LiPo setup for their planes and have questions if a particular servo will work on 3.7v.
While servo manufacturers often don’t specify if the servo is working on a single LiPo cell.
In addition, you’ll find the total height of the servo measured with a control arm installed, as sometimes this data is missing on the product descriptions.
So enjoy the read and feel free to share it and reward with some “claps” so others can benefit from it too.
Dymond D47
Centering: 5/5
Speed: 4/5
Weight: 5g
Thickness: 8mm
Total height w/ a control armd: 23mm
Average Price: $22
Detailed Dymond D47 data
D47 is probably the only servo out there that is widely used with both 1- and 1.5-meter DLGs and has brilliant reviews all over the place.
We decided to start with it to set up the baseline of the great DLG servo.
It has a lot of substitutes which may be named as follows:
- Dymond D47
- Ripmax SD100
- Robbe FS31 Pico
- Modell-Expert X-31
- Exact 4.7
- Topmodel 1118
- X-Micro
- Midget 4.7
Pilots like it’s precision and durability, so a lot of 1-meter models use a set of four D47 servos to control all the surfaces of the plane.
For the full-size F3K models these servos are often used to control tail surfaces.
They have a low hight with the control arm installed that makes it a great addition to the Elf and Hawk DLGs as they fit in the fuse with ease.
These servos have a great centering and work smooth powered with a 1S LiPo bat.
Hitec HS-40
Centering: 5/5
Speed: 5/5
Weight: 4.8g
Thickness: 8.6mm
Total height w/ a control arm: 24mm
Average Price: $12
Detailed Hitec HS-40 data
HS-40 is another small analog servo which has similar specs to the previously mentioned D47.
The exterior is a little different, but the overall height with the control arm is only 1mm bigger than for D47.
I stumbled upon Hitec HS-40 while assembling VM’s Elf.
D47 are the recommended ones for this model, but they were out of stock in my local shops and I needed a substitute.
Hitec ended up to be a great replacement and fit under a tiny Elf’s nose with ease.
In addition, it centers great and is a fraction faster on 1S LiPo than D47. See the video below for better reference.
Turnigy TGY D56MG
Centering: 5/5
Speed: 3/5
Weight: 5.6g
Thickness: 8.2mm
Total height w/ a control arm: 29mm
Average Price: $6
Detailed Turnigy TGY D56MG data
Turnigy TGY D56MG is a great little digital servo with great centering and semi-metal gear.
It’s a little taller than the other 2 above and that’s why it may not fit the fuse of 1-meter DLG models.
However, some people managed to use them with the partially removed outer case on the 1-meter models as well.
I.e. you can take off the bottom part and shrink wrap the servo before installing it.
They seem to be slightly slow on 1S LiPo as it’s a standard voltage version but still makes the job done.
See the video below for reference.
Upcoming Tests
Below there is a list of other servos which seem to work great on DLG models but weren't tested yet.
So stay tuned and subscribe to FlightPoint Newsletter, or follow us on Instagram and Facebook to get the updates.
Also, if you have some suggestions on what servos to include into the comparison, feel free to send us a message.
JX DHV56MG
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 5.6g
Thickness: 8.2mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $10
Detailed JX DHV56MG data
This servo looks pretty much the same as Turnigy TGY D56MG above, but to make the test compelling, we’ll test it separately.
Hitec HS-45HB
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 8g
Thickness: 9.8mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $10
Detailed Hitec HS-45HB data
Emax ES9051
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 4.1g
Thickness: 8mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $5
Detailed Emax ES9051 data
Turnigy MX-95E
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 4.1g
Thickness: 8mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $5
Detailed Turnigy MX-95E data
Turnigy TGY D56LV
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 8.2g
Thickness: 8mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $8
Detailed Turnigy TGY D56LV data
JX D56MG
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 8.2g
Thickness: 8mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $9
Detailed JX D56MG data
Blue Bird BMS 101AMG
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 4.5g
Thickness: 7.6mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $17
Detailed Blue Bird BMS 101AMG data
Blue Bird BMS 101DMG
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 4.5g
Thickness: 7.6mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $19
Detailed Blue Bird BMS 101DMG data
Blue Bird BMS 101HV
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 4.5g
Thickness: 7.6mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $19
Detailed Blue Bird BMS 101HV data
Blue Bird BMS A10 (S/V/H)
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 7.4g
Thickness: 8mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $19
Detailed Blue Bird BMS A10 data
JX PDI-HV0903MG
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 9.4g
Thickness: 8mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $13
Detailed JX PDI-HV0903MG data
GDW DS1906-B
Centering: Upcoming Test
Speed: Upcoming Test
Weight: 8.3g
Thickness: 8mm
Total height w/ a control arm: TBA
Average Price: $28
Detailed GDW DS1906-B data
Stay tuned!
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