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Step broke off

MConner

Well Known Member
Climbing aboard yesterday when the left step broke off. I got some nasty shin damage but the flap survived.

The airfoil shaped drop down piece broke away from the tube that inserts into the fuselage. It looks like when it was manufactured, they weld a flat plate across the tube then weld the airfoil shaped drop down piece to that flat plate. The flat plate held but the drop down sheared off of the plate. It sort of looks like they ground a little too much of the weld away. This had been cracked a long time as it was rusty along 2/3 of the contact area.

Look yours over for any signs that the weld is failing, i.e. rust stains or visible cracks.

PM for photos.
 
I had mine break also, I attribute that to too much cosmetic grinding or removal of weld to smooth surface during construction. Had to get rewelded and so far so good.
 
I had mine break also, I attribute that to too much cosmetic grinding or removal of weld to smooth surface during construction. Had to get rewelded and so far so good.

I called Van?s and they seemed to have never heard of this. I came to the same conclusion, they ground off the weld. My shins paid a dear price to the trailing edge of the flap. Luckily it didn?t damage the flap.
 
I called Van?s and they seemed to have never heard of this. I came to the same conclusion, they ground off the weld. My shins paid a dear price to the trailing edge of the flap. Luckily it didn?t damage the flap.

Convenient ignorance. They denied any issue for years on the 6-7-9's too, while the demonstration planes had applied a reasonable fix. Finally agreed to a fix.

Look up Russ McCutcheon here on VAF and see if he will apply the same fix as the other models.
 
There a enough reports about steps breaking that I took the time and effort to reinforce TIG weld the steps on my RV-10 before I installed them. On my RV-9A project, the steps were already installed by the previous builder so I took the trouble to drill out the baggage compartment floor pans, drill out the step mounting plates, remove and reinforce TIG weld those steps. I didn't want to risk the possibility of those breaking after the plane is flying and painted. One thing I did on re-installation was using a thin film of Pro-Seal between the step mounting plate and the fuselage skin before riveting. Moisture will never find its way in there.
 
The step on our 7A (right side) developed a crack at the top. Lots of posts on this in VAF. We ordered a new ?re-enforced? step and installed it. Install is easy but time consuming to match drill the new step. I am told it is a fatigue issue with prop wake harmonics.
Phelps
 
Just curious, how long has the plane been flying? If you e-mail me a picture I can get it posted for you, just curious what it looks like.

Thanks,
Lynn

lynnbuchanan @ gmail . com
 
First flight 2011, was a Phoenix based plane. And I am sure this was a manufacturing flaw not a vibration issue. There was almost no weld left after the cosmetic grinding. TT <600 hours.
 
Talking of things breaking off.....yesterday I had my door strut bracket break off when closing the door. Clean break right at the ceiling mounting point. I will take a pic and post.....Anyone had a similar break?

Ron
 
First flight 2011, was a Phoenix based plane. And I am sure this was a manufacturing flaw not a vibration issue. There was almost no weld left after the cosmetic grinding. TT <600 hours.

My 10 steps have have no grinding at all on the weld. Is it possible that the original builder ground them down to make them look "pretty?" They are not the most attractive welds I have seen. This is the first of the issue I have heard on the 10 steps. The other steps are different and had a design flaw. My 6 step cracked in less than 100 hours. However, those crack were always on the steel right near the weld and never the weld itself. They also always cracked on the bottom side and not sure any actually broke off.

Larry
 
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Strut Bracket break

Talking of things breaking off.....yesterday I had my door strut bracket break off when closing the door. Clean break right at the ceiling mounting point. I will take a pic and post.....Anyone had a similar break?

Ron

Ron, If your strut bracket is an original Nylon bracket from PlaneAround please call me and I'll replace it for free. I originally sold them out of nylon but over time they broke so I replaced them with solid aluminum. Same bolt pattern as Vans and my original brackets. That goes for anyone else reading this. I think I have replaced them all by now but might have a few out there.

Sean

801-580-3737
 
My 10 steps have have no grinding at all on the weld. Is it possible that the original builder ground them down to make them look "pretty?" They are not the most attractive welds I have seen. This is the first of the issue I have heard on the 10 steps. The other steps are different and had a design flaw. My 6 step cracked in less than 100 hours. However, those crack were always on the steel right near the weld and never the weld itself. They also always cracked on the bottom side and not sure any actually broke off.

Larry

I'm with Larry. I've never heard of the RV-10 steps cracking or breaking. I thought the step was redesigned to be more robust for the 10...
 
The strength of the step is primarily going to depend on how well it was welded. Look closely for examples of an undercut weld. This will be a weak spot subject to cracking with use.
32209099607_189616fdb3_o.jpg
[/url]main-qimg-41bf582479abdfaea768ee42f86d0586-c by David C, on Flickr[/IMG]
 
The new steps you get from Van?s are beefed up with extra metal. Mine broke a couple of years back. The new ones are a lot different.
 
What constitutes "new"? When did the steps change?

-Marc

I was thinking the same. I still feel like my RV9-A is "new" with only 2000+hrs on it. Cracked right step and all. I've been living on the wild side every time I climb into the pilot's seat for the last 8yrs(?). Sometimes it is good to "relieve stress", which a crack should be pretty good at.
 
The new steps you get from Van?s are beefed up with extra metal. Mine broke a couple of years back. The new ones are a lot different.

They finally addressed the issue on the two seat steps by adding a gusset. I don't believe this applied to the 10 step, which is different. Given that you don't have a 10, I am guessing you mistakenly assumed they are all the same.

Larry
 
I was thinking the same. I still feel like my RV9-A is "new" with only 2000+hrs on it. Cracked right step and all. I've been living on the wild side every time I climb into the pilot's seat for the last 8yrs(?). Sometimes it is good to "relieve stress", which a crack should be pretty good at.

It is usually the right step. While my right cracked before 100 hours; Left is going strong at 600 hours. This makes me believe it is a vibration or harmonic issue. My left is used 20 times more than the right and always heavier folks on the left.

Larry
 
No,
My step broke at the weld. The photos you show are classic case of not stress relieving a weld. It makes the metal fail where it was heated to weld without heating a larger area to stress relieve it. I am sure that the weld was ground down to make it look good and left little or no weldment to take the stress.
 
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No,
My step broke at the weld. The photos you show are classic case of not stress relieving a weld. It makes the metal fail where it was heated to weld without heating a larger area to stress relieve it. I am sure that the weld was ground down to make it look good and left little or no weldment to take the stress.

Just to clarify, neither Vans or its welding vendors (in instances where the welded parts are outsourced) grind on welds before shipping welded parts to customers.
If you are certain that grinding was done, it likely occurred during the build process.
 
Pictures

Thank you Carlos, if there was no grinding, then there was never any penetration on this weld. It was holding on by a thread.

This plane was built in 2011 and flown in the Phoenix desert until May 2018 when I bought it with 500 hours TT.
 
Thank you Carlos, if there was no grinding, then there was never any penetration on this weld. It was holding on by a thread.

Even if the weld was ground down there was inadequate penetration on the base metal. It was defective from the Mfg.

regards

-Marc
 
I called Van?s to axe if they wanted this step back to evaluate the failure. The response was that the photos were enough for engineering.

Please look yours over closely for lousy workmanship as a failure can damage both plane and pilot.
 
Ouch. My R step is a bit loose (small wiggle fore and aft). Getting in there to repair / replace isn't going to be easy. I suspect my steps are around the same vintage, will have to look at them closely next time I am out there.
 
Ouch. My R step is a bit loose (small wiggle fore and aft). Getting in there to repair / replace isn't going to be easy. I suspect my steps are around the same vintage, will have to look at them closely next time I am out there.

Look at the plans as to how our steps are held on. A little movement forward and aft is nothing to be concerned about, it is just a little slack in the AN-3 bolt that keeps the steps from falling off. Rust or cracks are the death of the steps.
 
Just to clarify, neither Vans or its welding vendors (in instances where the welded parts are outsourced) grind on welds before shipping welded parts to customers.
If you are certain that grinding was done, it likely occurred during the build process.

Great thread on this but after seeing it I am a slightly concerned about more critical welds like the motor mount. Does anyone have any information about who Van's farms this welding work out to?
 
Look at the plans as to how our steps are held on. A little movement forward and aft is nothing to be concerned about, it is just a little slack in the AN-3 bolt that keeps the steps from falling off. Rust or cracks are the death of the steps.

For sure. But the OCD in me is bothered by the looseness!

I am definitely going to have a look at the welds...
 
How can one tell what's good and what's not?

Looking at the pictures above, I would think it's impossible to tell a good weld from a bad one; as far as penetration is concerned. Any advice on what we should look for? Luckily, the RV-10 design allows for easier replacement of the steps than previous models, but I would still hope they would be designed not to fail for thousands of hours, not hundreds.
 
Mike,
Look for any signs of rust or cracks. I based my comment of poor penetration on the opinion of the welder that repaired my first one. When he grinds down the second one, I will share his opinion. From the fact that the crack is right down the center of the weld, I am guessing it is similar.

I agree that some form of corrosion control on the inside of step is required.
 
Mark,

Thanks. I primed the insides of mine, so hopefully, they won't suffer the same fate. I received my steps with my fuselage kit back in early 2015, but there's no telling when they were fabricated. I'm not flying yet, although I have tried out my steps. :)
 
I like to use boiled linseed oil to protect the inside surfaces of tubing where you can't get painted. Dump some in, swish around and stand it on end to drain away the access.
 
Convenient ignorance. They denied any issue for years on the 6-7-9's too, while the demonstration planes had applied a reasonable fix. Finally agreed to a fix.

Look up Russ McCutcheon here on VAF and see if he will apply the same fix as the other models.

I remember calling them years ago and discussing the issue of water ingress with a tip up. They had never heard of that either....
 
Picture of 6a broken step

Pilot side now broken, passenger side has already broken and has been repaired via weld.
 

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It's not entirely clear to me reading through this thread;

Is the step Van's now produces for the RV-10 gusseted or otherwise strengthened vs. the step Van's supplied earlier?

Or has there been no redesign/strengthening?
 
Broken step

I am not an expert welder but it is my opinion that the weld was not well done, it had poor penetration of the two surfaces. There was also some rust present. Since my plane has been flying for a decade, I am assuming that Van’s tightened up the quality of the folks they had producing these steps.

It is easy to see a crack forming if your weld starts to fail, I do not think it needs a gusset.
 
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