Steel wire rudder lock

[PerfTech]

Originally Posted by SeanB

Allan,

Will you be at OSH? A friend of mine just puchased a gust lock from you. Looks nice, he says it works well. I may be ready to purchase.

Thanks,

___Sorry to say, I will not be there this year as we are just too busy to get away
and I am not getting any faster at getting things done. We have them in stock
for all models, should you wish to get one. Best, Allan--

[Lycosaurus]

Originally Posted by Ed_Wischmeyer

Where does one get four inches of such wire? Steel, yes, but I don't even know what to ask for or where to ask.

How thick? I used a stainless U-bolt. Some artistic hammering on a vise, and voila. See photo as utilized on our RV9A. You should be able to find thinner U-bolts if that is what you are looking for.

Hanging it at the bottom allows some flex during windy times, minimizing stress on the rudder... I would think. So far has worked well for us during 13 years and 1100 hrs.

I have a light aluminum carabiner with a remove before flight flag that I attach to my headset as a reminder. Have never forgotten to remove the rudder gust lock in all that time.

Edit: size is 1/4" u-bolt. Survived many a storm. Nice and solid, yet allows for some flexing in the wind to prevent any support damage.
.

[Dean Pichon]

Originally Posted by Ed_Wischmeyer

My RV-9A came with the standard upside down U steel wire rudder lock that goes through the rudder stop and the bellcrank. The wire also was threaded through a red ribbon.

In an episode that makes no sense, all that blew off the rudder last year, and with Oshkosh coming up, I need to replace the wire.

Where does one get four inches of such wire? Steel, yes, but I don't even know what to ask for or where to ask.

In other "news," in addition to order parts to fix one fuel cap, I've ordered a spare.

Thanks!

Ed

When I made mine, which is just like yours, I used a small length of leftover hinge pin. If you don’t have any, you can get some from Aircraft Spruce or a multitude of other places.
Good luck

[Bill Boyd]

I'll jump in here and endorse Allan's excellent product which I just bought for my 10 and have used twice now. It's an elegantly engineered solution - not the only one, but one I'm very happy with after trying lots of other lock ideas on my 6A and now the 10. It works. Definitely a buy-once, cry once solution that I'm not even considering sending back for Anti-Splat's cheerful refund.

Thanks again, Mr.Nimmo, for sharing your engineering and manufacturing expertise with our RV community. Well done.

When/if I ever figure out how to adapt my South Florida Sport Aviation joystick covers so that they fit over the joystick clamp block, it will be the prefect setup. Even if that never happens, I'm keeping the gust lock and ditching the pilot-side stick cover. Damaged control surfaces versus a leather-wrapped joystick isn't even a contest.

[JGT]

Forget the outside ! Just brace the pedals inside ! Much more convenient and no scratches !

[Rick_A]

The problem I see with most of these rudder gust locks are that they are too rigid. It really helps to have a bit of give too absorb the loads.

I used a steel U-shape hinge pin at first. The first time they had to deal with a strong wind I realized they were not a good solution. Now, I only use these if I'm parking for a lunch stop.

I switched to the Airgizmo gust locks for a while. I am now using a system that is out of production (as far as I know).

The Rudder locks go in the cabin between the spar and the rudder pedals. It consists of a pair of 2 metal tubes - one inside the other with a spring inside the larger tube. The small tubes press up against the springs - which absorb the shock of wind gusts.

[David Paule]

First, if the gust lock won't protect the plane in a 70 kt wind, it's insufficient.

Second, and this is an opinion, any gust lock should be designed so that the airplane cannot be operated with it engaged. By operated, I mean you can't even taxi it, or better, if you can't even get into the cockpit.

Dave

[rocketman1988]

Originally Posted by Bill Boyd

I'll jump in here and endorse Allan's excellent product which I just bought for my 10 and have used twice now. It's an elegantly engineered solution - not the only one, but one I'm very happy with after trying lots of other lock ideas on my 6A and now the 10. It works. Definitely a buy-once, cry once solution that I'm not even considering sending back for Anti-Splat's cheerful refund.

Thanks again, Mr.Nimmo, for sharing your engineering and manufacturing expertise with our RV community. Well done.

When/if I ever figure out how to adapt my South Florida Sport Aviation joystick covers so that they fit over the joystick clamp block, it will be the prefect setup. Even if that never happens, I'm keeping the gust lock and ditching the pilot-side stick cover. Damaged control surfaces versus a leather-wrapped joystick isn't even a contest.

I just purchased the ultimate gust lock for my -10. I have the aerosport stick boots.

My solution for the clamp block was to cut an opening in the boot to allow the sides and aft portion of the block to protrude through the leather boot. I then put the used a scotchbrite wheel and a polishing wheel to put a mirror finish on the block. Works great. Pictures will follow.

When I made the cut in the leather, I did 45 degree cuts from the corners to allow me to fold the leather inward and create a finished edge.

[MacCool]

I routinely use the Anti-Splat gust lock and have found it to work well. Really locks up the rudder and elevators. I did recently park for a few hours at a local Warbirds show, with winds gusting to 30 knots and had to park tail into the wind. I noticed some play in the ailerons, but not enough to cause damage. It attaches easily...I lock the stick bracket to the stick right below the grip and it holds really well. Best of all, it's virtually impossible to forget to remove it before takeoff. No stick boot modifications necessary of the RV-9/A

[Bavafa]

Originally Posted by Ed_Wischmeyer

My RV-9A came with the standard upside down U steel wire rudder lock that goes through the rudder stop and the bellcrank. The wire also was threaded through a red ribbon.

In an episode that makes no sense, all that blew off the rudder last year, and with Oshkosh coming up, I need to replace the wire.

Where does one get four inches of such wire? Steel, yes, but I don't even know what to ask for or where to ask.

In other "news," in addition to order parts to fix one fuel cap, I've ordered a spare.

Thanks!

Ed

Just for another data point, my steel wire which was put on both sides failed and caused rudder damage during a higher up wind. I ended up building a new rudder. So, I don't rely on that type alone.