Rudder stop attachment
 

I desire to attach the rudder stops with "pulled rivets" rather than solid rivets. I can do it, but prefer not to. I do not see this as structural.

I do not know what type to use, has anyone else used pulled rivets. if so what type?

Thanks

I installed the flyboys internal rudder stop and recommend it. I could never fabricate the Vans part to my liking.

I also bought the flyboys internal stop and it does not allow the travel sufficiently. Did you modify it any?

Riveting it per plan is not really that hard and I would imagine to be fair amount of load/impact on those stops if the wind catches the rudder when it is parked.

In regards to the internal rudder stops, there has been much debate on the internal rudder stop and whether it puts undue stress on the hinge. I considered it and decided it against it as the reasoning made sense to me.

This is a very important structural part in the sense that it will prevent destruction of rudder, and possibly elevator, if a strong gust hits while you have no rudder lock installed on the ground. I recall seeing posts on the forums where the stop got sheared off and rudder got punctured by elevator. I don't recall if any of these reports were for a -14.

On mine I used CherryMax pulled rivets which are stronger than regular AD rivets. Another suggestion I read here recently was to use AN3 bolts.

As always, check in with mothership if you plan to deviate from plans.

Yep, you have to trim to fit. I took about 1/8 off and also removed some material from the center. Perfect fit!

Rudder Internal Stop
 

Yep, I also used the internal rudder stop and yes I had to modify it. In fact I ended up making about 3 of them until I finally got it just right to stop rudder and inch from the elevator on an RV7A.

I also installed the internal rudder stop on our RV-7A. I did not like how the spar deflected, nor how easy it was to move the rudder past the desired deflection limits, as the internal stop is not very rigid. As a result, we ended up installing the Van's specified external stop as well. I was more concerned about rudder limits during aerobatic maneuvers than the ability of the stop to prevent damage in high winds. For that, I will use one of the flight control locks that are available.

I did just this afternoon check with the Mother ship and was told that I could use CS-4 pulled rivets. I do think Cherry rivets would be stronger.

On my 7A I used the internal stop and was pleased with the results. However, I did not have it long enough to encounter any wind problems.

BTW on the 14 the clearance between the elevator and the rudder is .75 minimum.

Thanks for all the input to my question. I will consider all thoughts.

I used CS4 rivets and they are definitely not strong enough. They both sheared off after about 300 hrs. In my case I think probably due to ham handed (footed) taxiing. Should be fairly easy to use solid rivets.