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question on A/P aileron control sensitivity/responsiveness post install

Triumph1974

Well Known Member
For those of you that have flown with and without A/P servos hooked up in your RVs, is there a noticeable reduction on flight control sensitivity after installing the servos? Or if anyone has noticed that a paint job reduces sensitivity?

I have a RV7A, and likely will be adding on the Dynon SV32 A/P servos in the near future.....right now the plane is super responsive to the slightest control input...so much so that other RV 6 and 7 owners that the first thing that say after taking the controls is that is it is much more responsive (one comment was "twitchy" ) than their planes (which are 'fully loaded" planes and weight a bit more than mine which is 1,035 lbs)....

Currently the plane is not fully painted....didn't know if that gives the control input more sensitivity, or if it could be that the A/P servos would have an impact....just wondering the experience others have seen as they start to add more bells and whistles....

Thanks,
Paul
 
some servos add a bit of resistance to the controls (dynon/GRT) and some don't (Garmin / Trio). You won't notice in flight, but will on the ground. I have also found that some other planes had stiffer controls than mine and attribute that to care and attention to properly shimming the heim joints in certain areas. Spring based aileron trim will add a fair amount of resistance to the controls on the ground.

I don't think paint would affect this, but not an aero engineer and don't really know.

In the air, the shape of the trailing edge area (sect 5 show examples of over or under bent edges and how they impact the area 6-8" forward of the T/E) makes a big difference in the responsiveness of the control surface (on rounded t/e's). This is likely the differences repoted. When I started IFR training, I spent a good amount of time addressing the elev T/E's and it really helped in reducing pitch sensitivity (some could call it "twitchy" though I don't think it was). Still very responsive, but more stable. I don't believe that these T/E's will end up perfect without attention to detail and therefore expect variability amongst the fleet.

Larry
 
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As noted above, the Trio servos use a clutch, so the servo gear train is disconnected from the controls when the servos are disengaged.
 
Sounds like the trailing edge radius on the ailerons is not to spec. You can confirm by checking the aileron surface with a straight-edge. The surface should be flat up to the TE radius. Best to correct that before paint.

The dynon servo added a little drag, but not much.
 
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Adjustment on Trailing Edges

Thanks everyone for the tips. I did checks on the ailerons/elevators and found 3 areas that where quite not in line with the straight edge...did some light massaging on the T/E radius and in the first test flight I did notice that the controls where more solid than previously...still light, but I sort of like the responsiveness where it is now.

Haven't gotten a chance to do a 2nd round of evaluation/testing.... probably will leave as is for now and only consider further adjustment if the A/P has difficulty with stability once installed.

By the way...some of the links in a prior detailed thread that Walt shared seemed to refer back to the Vans website and appear to be gone...

Thanks again everyone!
Paul
 
If twitchy you might want to check the trailing edge of your ailerons. That does have an impact.
 
Absolutely check your aileron trailing edges. My quickbuilt RV7 was excessively sensitive in roll to the point of being not fun to fly at all. I lived with it for about hundred hours until researching the ?fat? aileron trailing edge issue. Squeezing them down made it a totally different airplane.
 
Post AP install Update

Ok, everyone here is an update post install. Installed the Dynon AP servos the other weekend and was able to do a short 20 min flight test a few days ago- the RV7a is a totally different feeling airplane than what is was prior.....grant it I haven't done any testing yet in bumpy weather as my test flight was done on a calm evening.

A week or so prior to the AP install I did massage the one aileron trailing edge just a bit on two rib lines, did a test flight and the plane was a bit less "twitchy", but still was on the super responsive "light touch" side of the things.....after the AP install, it feels more "solid" in the controls and less twitchy.... so my take is that the AP servos do make a difference in the feel of the controls.

Thanks for the comments,
Paul
 
...after the AP install, it feels more "solid" in the controls and less twitchy.... so my take is that the AP servos do make a difference in the feel of the controls.

Thanks for the comments,
Paul

Congrats on adding the AP.

On a nice day, when you have some time, go fly, then remove the AP servo to bell crank link and see if you notice a difference. Only if you do back-to-back flights will you be able to tell for sure.

If the AP servo is what is making your airplane more stable, I suggest you continue to look at those trailing edges.
 
By the way...some of the links in a prior detailed thread that Walt shared seemed to refer back to the Vans website and appear to be gone...

Thanks again everyone!
Paul

The document is still on the web site but the link address has been changed (darn web administrators :rolleyes:)

The document with the details is the current Section 5 that is common to all models so Selecting any model # in the Service - Information Section will get you to it (in case the link gets changed again)

Currently it is available at https://www.vansaircraft.com/service-information-and-revisions/5/

I have edited the link in the other thread as well.
 
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