Hi Bob,
Good to hear you on this forum again.
I am still doing the same thing but the model numbers change. In O7 I canned Hitec analogeand went to the Futaba digital 9350. There were not a lot of choices with this brand in digital. This servo is 139 torque and .12 seconds at 6v.
Servo selections are more specific now because most of us have exponential control of the servo speed. Using this feature gives you both worlds; minute rudder input within 5 degrees deflection and emergency speed in one package. I would like to have had something slower than .12 but it was not significantly slower in the torque range desired.
To be honest, these servos are rarely needed during the season. I have gone all season with no B rig needed even for a few heats. However, a powerful rudder servo will extend the use of an A rig as the pressure ramps up. That and good windward heel control can push an A rig into 12mph where needed on a course that is not fully enveloped.
The EC12 is overpowered and unstable on a run in a fresh breeze. The leeward mark is a heart pumping maneuver. Control here is worth the servo.
I see no benefit to half second servos because of the exponential control.
From experience I found this servo could not handle 20+ air at the leeward mark with a B rig in NZL during the 2006 Worlds. Twice I could not turn left for the reaching leg and choose an immediate 270 to the right to be on my way. The rudder was losing but would go right a bit for the long way around. Hence, I do not feel that too much torque for the majority of the time is wasted. If you want to be in the top of the fleet, one needs to be prepared for all conditions including the extremes like the Worlds which could be anywhere like Charleston in the spring.
...94