Help! Wrong Hinges On Rudder ?

[Toobuilder]

Originally Posted by wjb

FWIW ... I put those rod end bearings in my -7 VS a few months ago and I had to run them in until the threads were invisible to make the dimensions called out in the plans. I only had to tighten the jam nut a turn or two to lock it down.

Good data point! There's no way I could do that here. The rudder would be jammed against the fin long before that. I suspect regardless of the hardware callout on the plans, I'm now stuck with a "custom" solution. I'll consult the plans, but I suspect replacing the upper rod ends with a longer version will get me where I need to be.

[grayforge]

You may already know this, but you can purchase individual plans pages from Vans for $3 apiece.

http://www.vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/...&product=ppset (Bottom item on the page)

I ordered replacements this way when fiberglass hardener leaked onto and gummed up a dozen pages of mine. :-(

[Mike S]

Originally Posted by grayforge

You may already know this, but you can purchase individual plans pages from Vans for $3 apiece.

http://www.vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/...&product=ppset (Bottom item on the page)

I ordered replacements this way when fiberglass hardener leaked onto and gummed up a dozen pages of mine. :-(

I was not aware of this, thanks for posting it.

I took the liberty of copying it into the "RV Building Tips/Techniques" forum, so it can be found easier.

[Zero4Zulu]

Because of this VAF thread I checked my rudder Heim joints and found that the bottom one was only threaded in three threads also! The others were five threads. The bottom one was the wrong p/n but all three had no more room to turn them in further with the lock nuts. Not having them at least extending through the plate nut will not be acceptable to me. I'm ordering three MD3616's.

I'm not the builder of my plane so I may have over looked this problem.

Michael, I'm glad you posted when you did. This sort of info. saves lives!

[wjb]

Originally Posted by Zero4Zulu

Because of this VAF thread I checked my rudder Heim joints and found that the bottom one was only threaded in three threads also! The others were five threads. The bottom one was the wrong p/n but all three had no more room to turn them in further with the lock nuts. Not having them at least extending through the plate nut will not be acceptable to me. I'm ordering three MD3616's.

I'm not the builder of my plane so I may have over looked this problem.

Michael, I'm glad you posted when you did. This sort of info. saves lives!

Something doesn't make sense ... just did a visual on my -7 rudder; the bottom rod end bearing is the only one visible from both sides. I have at least 3 threads above the lock nut and 3-4 threads protruding from the *back side* of the nutplate ..this seems like a great engagement to me for the MD3616M rod end bearing! I remember a similar "deep" engagement for the other two 3614's as well. Did you guys get shorted (literally) on your rod ends?

[Toobuilder]

Beats the heck out of me what is going on there, but I did find an acceptable, if not perfect, compromise. I have the "small" rod end back in the top and I can just barely get full thread engagement. I did have to sand the fiberglass tips due to a slight interference, however. I had to use the "large" rod end in the middle though. Not super happy about this because the ball end is slightly wider than the hinge brackets and does spread them out a little. At least it's rigged straight and I don't feel like the rudder is going to fall off now!

...and to think of all the times I've had this airplane to VNE...

[Zero4Zulu]

Originally Posted by Toobuilder

Beats the heck out of me what is going on there, but I did find an acceptable, if not perfect, compromise. I have the "small" rod end back in the top and I can just barely get full thread engagement. I did have to sand the fiberglass tips due to a slight interference, however. I had to use the "large" rod end in the middle though. Not super happy about this because the ball end is slightly wider than the hinge brackets and does spread them out a little. At least it's rigged straight and I don't feel like the rudder is going to fall off now!

...and to think of all the times I've had this airplane to VNE...

I'll be doing the same thing. I can live with the top bearing engagement. The bottom rod end was the 3614M. No idea why the builder did this but with everything else I have found wrong on this plane I'm not too surprised.

For the middle bearing, I can put the 3616M on my surface grinder with a fixture and reduce the width of the bearing .015 per side.

[Soarandtow]

I am installing the same rod ends on my 9 rudder 14s at top and mid. 16 on the bottom.
My problem is I don't see any starting dim for the rod ends on my plans page 7 as the instructions say to use
Can someone give me the dim.

[rv8gibbo]

By memory there is a measurement from the forward face of the spar web to the center of the hole in the rod end! I've checked mine and they have plenty of engagement. DWG 7 will have the call out's.

Gibbo

[CHA]

I am doing my first tail section. I found that the nut plates and hinge bolt take way too much force to put together. My part members are k1000-6 and md3614m . Do the plate nuts need to be taped? What is up? Thanks CHS