Single DIY aileron actuators from an old umbrella.

Here's a simple, inexpensive way to build your own aileron actuators.

An old umbrella is an excellent source of materials for RC. The ribs can be used to make control rods. The central tube is made of a very light and resistant metal that can be used as a guide for the union of the removable wings. And the fabric can be used to make parachutes. Maybe someday I will make a full tutorial of the use of these. But today I want to share with you this cheap and simple technique to create aileron actuators taken from Jivaro-models an excellent French site with very good tutorials and tips.

Let's start
To create the actuators, I have used part of the ribs that go to the tips of the umbrella. 

These rods have a small hole in the tip. With the help of a metal saw, or a cutting clamp, we remove the excess from the tip. Make sure you file well so you don't cut yourself later.

The problem is that this hole is too big to insert a control rod, it would be too loose.

The solution

To solve this problem, I used a cotton swab (let's be clear, I used a clean one   ). Removing the cotton part we get a plastic tube that can be used for many things, including guides for control rods. 

By inserting the rod into the tube and pushing it, the tube gets stuck at the tip of the rod. Then we cut off the leftover plastic tube. This can also be done with a shrink tubing.

Then we open a small hole through the plastic and expand it with the control rod we are going to use. 

The rest is to bend the control rods and adjust them to the model. By adding V-shaped folds we can adjust the accuracy and center the control rods.

Thanks for reading, I hope this tip is useful for you.