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RV-10 Gust Lock: 9GT's Version

9GT

Well Known Member
Patron
I like to fabricate and have the equipment so I went ahead and made my own gust lock out of light weight 4130. This works whether the wires are inside or outside the control stick.

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The threaded knobs are 8/32. I cut a relief in the threads on a lathe in the proper location and installed retainer clips to keep them in place at all times. The end that attaches to the seat pedestal is slotted 1/2" for the screw to pivot during installation. It also allows the gust lock to be extended and tightened up.
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I installed an 8/32 plate nut under the seat pedestal. There is a 5/16" steel insert that is drilled and tapped 8/32 in the control stick TIG welded in. I used a small leather hole punch to make a clean hole in the control stick cover and used a dab of contact cement on the inside of the cover holding the hole location in place. There is also a metal anti crush insert in the gust lock at that location.
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Awesome

Nice, real nice! Awesome job. Can you post close up pictures of your attachment to the control stick? I cannot see how you were able to drill without tearing up your wires.

Thanks for posting.

Kenny Gene
Wichita Kansas Area
Rv7a 294TC AWC 9-07 690 hours sold 11-11
Rv10 484TC AWC 10-10 418 hours
 
Nice, real nice! Awesome job. Can you post close up pictures of your attachment to the control stick? I cannot see how you were able to drill without tearing up your wires.

Thanks for posting.

Kenny Gene
Wichita Kansas Area
Rv7a 294TC AWC 9-07 690 hours sold 11-11
Rv10 484TC AWC 10-10 418 hours

Thank you. The control stick was removed from the plane and I also removed the Tosten grip and the associated wires. Both the control stick and the gust lock were drilled on a drill press for the inserts to ensure they were square to each other, and for welding. I used 9 pin Sub-D connectors for the wiring under the seats. It was not too difficult extracting extracting the pinned wires from the connectors. That allowed me to pull the the wires from the stick. It was a little harder to get them past the insert for reassembly but they made it. Where the stick and gust lock meet, I left about 1/32" protruding so they had a squared off mating surface.
 
Considering the cover/boot-------why not just run the wires on the outside of the stick??

Much simpler.

I really like your design, may have to do a bit of copying;)
 
Considering the cover/boot-------why not just run the wires on the outside of the stick??

Much simpler.

I really like your design, may have to do a bit of copying;)

That is very true Mike. My stick covers were an afterthought so I originally ran the wires inside the sticks. I still did not like the looks of the bare stick control's so I got some interior matching vinyl material from JoAnn Fabrics and sewed up the sock covers and decided to keep the wires inside. I waited as long as I could for ASA to come out with their RV-10 gust lock but a looming cross country trip with ramp tie down forced me to come up with something quick. Nothing against any other designs out there that work, but they were not for me.
 
I'm wondering if something that rotates out from the seat would work - here's a beginning idea:

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The part that rotates out to hold the stick could be just a single arm with a curve to match the stick assuming it could provide enough resistance to movement. I'll have to confirm that it could be situated to not be in the way during normal ops.

Then a similar fixture for the rudders. This type of design would allow the lock to stow in place and removes the need for a long connecting pole.

==dave==
 
I'm wondering if something that rotates out from the seat would work - here's a beginning idea:

The part that rotates out to hold the stick could be just a single arm with a curve to match the stick assuming it could provide enough resistance to movement. I'll have to confirm that it could be situated to not be in the way during normal ops.

Then a similar fixture for the rudders. This type of design would allow the lock to stow in place and removes the need for a long connecting pole.

==dave==

Dave,
I see one problem - the stick will hit it when it's full back. My stick comes within 1/4 inch of the seat pedestal. You will need that when you try to flare in a full flaps landing.
John
 
One very desirable feature in any control lock would be to include some provision so that the pilot physically can't sit in the seat when the control lock is engaged.

Dave
 
Here's one way around the stick travel problem - move the hinge points further outboard, creating a v shape -

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A pin or pins would go where the two overlap. If I could think of a good way to double hinge the attach points that would make it even easier. Maybe use tubing vs angle and make the collar from something thicker. Needs more thinking...

Sorry for the thread hijack - I like the OPs gust lock, just want to see if something different could work.

==dave==
 
Simple rudder lock

I manufactured 2 identical latches made from 5mm stainless steel rod and added angle brackets ahead of the rudder, these are attached to the two rear most formers. I used pop-rivets but if planned earlier (before fitting the vertical stab) normal rivets could be used.

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