Elevator pivots

[Mark Jackson]

I am about to attach the two elevators to the HS. The attach bolts will not fit through the brackets without drilling the brackets some. I don't see any notes about this in the instructions. Has anyone had to drill these out?

Thx

Mark Jackson

[DaAV8R]

A reamer works great.

[Flyin'Bryan]

Originally Posted by DaAV8R

A reamer works great.

First, you can check my blog site by clicking on the Rudder label (link) at the top to find some info about drilling out the rudder hinge holes, which also take the same size AN3-7A bolts that are used to attach the elevators. Vans absolutely falls off the mark by not mentioning a thing in their plans about final drilling the hinges, and that omission almost cost me my VS and Rudder as a result, so I share your pain about this.

Second, to spare you the anguish that I went through, the bolts are 10/32 close tolerance AN bolts. The temporary hinge pins, if you are using them, are 3/16". What you want to use is a # 13 drill bit, followed by a #12 non-piloted, fluted reamer. The drill bit size may not be exactly right, but what you are looking for is a drill bit that is only a few thousands smaller than the reamer size.

Lastly, ensure that the elevator is secured so it does not move around, and also ensure that the reamer is held straight. This should give you the proper sized hole for the bolts or the temporary hinge pins. Installing the rod end bearings to the correct length is also critically important.

Hope that helps.

[Richard Connell]

Just ream or drill the powder coat out of the hole. They are not close tolerance bolts. A #12 (or even #11) drill for an AN3 bolt is perfectly adequate.

Its a long time ago, but i think I just twisted the drill or reamer through by hand after the brackets were riveted to the spar. It was only residual powder coat.

The Avery temporary pins are very handy. Well worth getting IMHO.

Cheers

[panhandler1956]

What they said. You are correct that Van doesn't call for it in the plans, but it's just a product of the powder coating process. This is the first place I noticed that most of the tool kits fall short - no reamers. I promptly ordered the 3 cardinal ones from Avery (7/16, 3/8, 1/2).
Good luck on your project!
Brent

[jrs14855]

Reamers can sometimes be held in a tap handle- the type with a sliding bar-for hand reaming. MSC Supply is a great source for reamers.

[Mike S]

The brackets are not pivot points, the ball in the rod end is the actual pivot.

The bolt clamps the ball solid to the brackets, when things are done correctly.

The hole in the brackets does not need to be done with a reamer, but doing so will not hurt either. I used a drill bit.

As to actually installing the control surface, take a look at what I did, might help you out a bit.


http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ad.php?t=82829

[Mark Jackson]

Thanks, I am going to get a hand reamer this morning to take off the powder coating.

I am curious about pivot pins someone mentioned. I have some leftover AN bolts from my Mooney I was using to fit everything. I didn't see any pivot pins in the kit.

Also, I have a LOT of leftover rivets and such. Granted I still have to finish the fiberglass tips but should I have so much leftover stuff?

Mark Jackson

[Mel]

Rivets are very light weight, cheap, and measured by the lb.
You will have a lot left over. Much better than coming up short!

[Flyin'Bryan]

Originally Posted by Mark Jackson

I am curious about pivot pins someone mentioned. I have some leftover AN bolts from my Mooney I was using to fit everything. I didn't see any pivot pins in the kit.
Mark Jackson

Two sources for some pre-fabricated temporary hinge pins are Cleaveland Tools and Avery Tools. And of course, as MIke has indicated, and if you are so inclined, you can even make your own if you wish. I started with the pins from Cleaveland, but I switched to the shorter ones from Avery shortly after having my problems with the rudder. Using similar sized non-AN bolts and nuts is also a common practice to keep from damaging the "real" hardware you will use during final assembly. Some reasons that the pins are preferred over the nuts and bolts is because there is no wear and tear on bolt threads from continuously inserting and removing them, the nut faces won't mar the powder coat prior to final assembly, and they are a bit easier to install and remove during the trial fitting phase than using a nut and bolt. (Assuming you get the hinge holes drilled to the correct size! )

From Cleaveland: (Good one is on the bottom of the top pic)



From Avery