What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

Heavy Wing

Tjrepella

I'm New Here
Hello All,

I bought a Rv6-A recently, and love flying this Plane.Although when the Fuel Tanks are full the Right wing is a bit heavy. Is there any way to correct this problem? It is a very annoying.
Thanks in Advance
Ted
 
VANs has a very good write up about heavy wing and how to go about tackling it. With RV6/7 type aileron, there is a number of ways to remedy the problem but it is good to follow their instruction so to make the right type of remedy has been applied.
 
Hi Ted,

Your post is just a little difficult to answer since you mention the heavy wing only in reference to having full tanks. You don't say whether your plane has aileron trim (electric or manual). But I'm assuming it doesn't, otherwise you would just trim out the imbalance in the full fuel or other temporary imbalance conditions.

If you don't have aileron trim, Van's Aircraft has a manual aileron kit that is easy to install in an already flying plane. https://www.vansaircraft.com/cgi-bin/store.cgi?ident=1544786653-74-60&browse=airframe&product=ail-tx

If you do have some type of aileron trim I'm assuming it is inadequate in trimming out the heavy wing.

As mentioned by Carl N. above, the pages he cites offer permanent solutions to an always heavy wing. But I recently posted a simple solution which can be applied in a matter of minutes.
Put "Heavy Wing" in the search field and you will find much advice from other posters in a "Heavy Wing" post that began on December 3 of this year. Here is a link to that thread:
http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=166523&highlight=wedge+easy+fix

My simple solution will come up on page 2 of that thread with the title "Wedge is an easy fix" then is followed up with a second post "Positioning the wedge".

Or... Just read my posts copied and pasted below:

"Wedge is an easy fix"
Please don't flame me, you more technical guys, about a "proper" fix …
Just trying to help a fellow RV pilot with a cheap, easy, and reversible solution.

A very easy fix for my heavy wing which could not be trimmed out with the manual trim, was a small piece of trailing edge Balsa wood affixed to the underside of the aileron of the LIGHT wing. That location may seem counter intuitive. But that's the way trim tabs work and the wedge is in effect, a trim tab.

We tried various lengths with both tanks full and fuel load balanced until it flew perfectly level with the manual trim lever and stick centered.

About a 6" length fixed the heavy wing for us in our RV4. There was no detectable change in speed, but the plane was noticeably more pleasant to fly.

Held in place with white Gorilla tape and is virtually invisible being on the underside of the aileron and the white tape matching our white aileron.
(Gorilla tape does come in a variety of colors and seems strong enough to survive at least mach 2 speeds)

The biggest issue was finding a place to buy the trailing edge balsa wood. Once I found a vendor I had to buy way more than I needed (i.e. several 3 FOOT lengths) but it was cheap. If you PM me with your address and contact info I would be more than happy to send you a three foot length.

FYI … My RV4 is a plane which I did not build. I bought it last March. We suspect the heavy wing is the result of some hanger rash where the previous owner dented an aileron on a hanger door. The intent is to re-skin the damaged aileron over the nasty flying weather months of January/February in this part of the world. But for now this was a great solution.

"Positioning the wedge"

I don't think the positioning laterally (towards root or tip) matters much since the purpose is to move the entire aileron. However I chose to put the wedge laterally toward the center of the trailing edge of the aileron on the bottom of the light wing, straddling one of the stiffeners of the aileron.

Orientation front to back the wedge is positioned with the thick portion of the wedge aligned with the underside of trailing edge of the aileron.

As previously mentioned, putting the wedge on the underside of the light wing may seem counter-intuitive (at least it was to me initially), but this is indeed the correct position. i.e. For a heavy left wing causing the plane to bank left, the wedge goes on the underside of the right wing aileron.

In taping the wedge to the aileron I chose to tape over the entire wedge, as opposed to using double sided tape or permanently mounting it with epoxy or silicone seal as other posters have mentioned in other threads.

i.e. The tape starts about a quarter inch in front of the thin portion of the wedge on the underside of the aileron to make a smooth transition from the aileron to the wedge. The tape then extends over the thick part of the wedge terminating on the top side of the aileron with about a quarter inch of tape showing on the top edge of the aileron. Thus the entire balsa wedge is enclosed in tape and protected from the elements.

Is this clear? I'd take a picture but as I mentioned in a previous post the repair is virtually invisible with the white Gorilla tape closely matching the white paint of the aileron.
 
Please don't flame me, you more technical guys, about a "proper" fix …
Just trying to help a fellow RV pilot with a cheap, easy, and reversible solution.
I don't disagree that a trimming wedge is very effective and easy to implement when needing to resolve a trim imbalance, but I do disagree with the idea that it be used in place of correcting the actual cause of the trim problem.

Here is the reason....
The same issues that typically cause a roll (or other trim) imbalance, also cause other problems that effect handling qualities and some times stability.
Often times a trim issue is being dealt with when the airplane is new and in it's testing phase. It is new to the pilot as well, so the handling issues are not likely to be detected (people don't know, what they don't know).

I have used trim wedges my self, but only after verifying the control surfaces are shaped properly (see the links Carl posted previously), and evaluating all of the other details of the control system and air-frame that can have an influence.
 
Scott,

I don't disagree with you.
i.e. Identifying the underlying problem and fixing same, before resorting to the wedge. As I noted in my post we consider this to be a temporary fix.

I do want the forum to know we are safety conscious pilots so, FYI, here is the story of how we came to use the wedge.

We bought the plane in March knowing it had a heavy wing. This most likely due to a minor dent in an aileron suffered by the previous owner when a hanger door blew shut. During pre-buy several APs determined the damage was insignificant other than cosmetic and the heavy wing that resulted, and that the plane was airworthy in that regard. The only possible permanent fix is to re-skin the aileron and all that implies. i.e. trying to match the existing paint job (which is intricate and beautiful BTW)

Eager to complete transition training and get flying in our new plane we decided to defer that aileron repair until the nasty weather of January and February 2019 would arrive and make flying not so pleasant here. Installing manual aileron trim, and using the wedge when the trim control proved not enough seemed a reasonable temporary solution to get us flying quickly.

But we also had other more significant issues last March we wanted cleared up before launching into the wild blue including suspected slosh in the tanks, Service Bulletins not complied with, a wobbly tail wheel, etc.. If we had known last March these other issues would take months to resolve for various reasons we would have rebuilt the aileron at the same time. But as it turned out we were not confident enough to fly the plane until Mid JULY. Four months of drooling over a beautiful bird we voluntarily grounded!!

In our decision to fly before repairing the aileron it's worth noting the previous owner flew the plane with the dented aileron, including aerobatics for over a year, the CFI who did the transition training thought the dent insignificant, and that a third and fourth AP confirmed the plane is airworthy during an October condition inspection.

Worrying about the effect of any damage to a control surface (flutter for example) does not fit in my philosophy of wanting to be an OLD pilot, not a BOLD pilot. So we do intend to do the repair this winter. In the mean time, no aerobatics or other extremes of flight.

Now all that remains is to find a fellow RVer to lend me some tools to make the repair since I sold all my tools back in 2005 when I parted with my RV7.

Any Eastern PA or New Jersey builders willing to help me out?
Air drill, rivet removal tool, back riveting plate, bunch of clecoes, squeezer, etc., etc.??
 
Scott,

I don't disagree with you.
i.e. Identifying the underlying problem and fixing same, before resorting to the wedge. As I noted in my post we consider this to be a temporary fix.

I do want the forum to know we are safety conscious pilots so, FYI, here is the story of how we came to use the wedge.

We bought the plane in March knowing it had a heavy wing. This most likely due to a minor dent in an aileron suffered by the previous owner when a hanger door blew shut. During pre-buy several APs determined the damage was insignificant other than cosmetic and the heavy wing that resulted, and that the plane was airworthy in that regard. The only possible permanent fix is to re-skin the aileron and all that implies. i.e. trying to match the existing paint job (which is intricate and beautiful BTW)

Eager to complete transition training and get flying in our new plane we decided to defer that aileron repair until the nasty weather of January and February 2019 would arrive and make flying not so pleasant here. Installing manual aileron trim, and using the wedge when the trim control proved not enough seemed a reasonable temporary solution to get us flying quickly.

But we also had other more significant issues last March we wanted cleared up before launching into the wild blue including suspected slosh in the tanks, Service Bulletins not complied with, a wobbly tail wheel, etc.. If we had known last March these other issues would take months to resolve for various reasons we would have rebuilt the aileron at the same time. But as it turned out we were not confident enough to fly the plane until Mid JULY. Four months of drooling over a beautiful bird we voluntarily grounded!!

In our decision to fly before repairing the aileron it's worth noting the previous owner flew the plane with the dented aileron, including aerobatics for over a year, the CFI who did the transition training thought the dent insignificant, and that a third and fourth AP confirmed the plane is airworthy during an October condition inspection.

Worrying about the effect of any damage to a control surface (flutter for example) does not fit in my philosophy of wanting to be an OLD pilot, not a BOLD pilot. So we do intend to do the repair this winter. In the mean time, no aerobatics or other extremes of flight.

Now all that remains is to find a fellow RVer to lend me some tools to make the repair since I sold all my tools back in 2005 when I parted with my RV7.

Any Eastern PA or New Jersey builders willing to help me out?
Air drill, rivet removal tool, back riveting plate, bunch of clecoes, squeezer, etc., etc.??

Check your PM's
 
Fix a heavy wing by taping a small coffee straw on the trailing edge of the bottom opposite aileron. Works like a charm. If it?s real heavy, use two.
 
Back
Top