Van's Air Force
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Tail Dragger Spring Mount
- Thread starter djohns
- Start date
Desert Rat
Well Known Member
The most obvious answer is that it isn't called out on the print. If you start thinking that you're going to "improve" every little detail, sooner or later it's going to come back and bite you, because you're going to find out 100 pages later that there was a reason it was designed the way it was.
A more practical answer for this particular case is that if at some point in the next 50 -70 years somebody has to get in there to replace that thing because of corrosion, they are going to curse you and your whole family line.
Don't use lock tite (especially the permanent kind!). Where it's not supposed to be unless you hate all those who come after you.
A more practical answer for this particular case is that if at some point in the next 50 -70 years somebody has to get in there to replace that thing because of corrosion, they are going to curse you and your whole family line.
Don't use lock tite (especially the permanent kind!). Where it's not supposed to be unless you hate all those who come after you.
Here are some reasons NOT to . . . .
Aircraft hardware is designed for a reason NOT to fall apart.
There are 10k's of Vans aircraft with 1000's of hours and they are NOT falling apart.
The aircraft designer is NOT calling for it.
These are NOT firearms. 8^)
(why I have loctite)
And what DR said about "improving" things.
A slippery slope to be avoided.
Aircraft hardware is designed for a reason NOT to fall apart.
There are 10k's of Vans aircraft with 1000's of hours and they are NOT falling apart.
The aircraft designer is NOT calling for it.
These are NOT firearms. 8^)
(why I have loctite)
And what DR said about "improving" things.
A slippery slope to be avoided.
I was just pondering "I sure don't want those bolt to come loose." Fair point on only needing to drill out two rivets to repair/replace the part if needed.
Thanks.
Scott Hersha
Well Known Member
On your RV14, do those bolts in the weldment at the aft end also capture the bottom of the VS aft spar? They do on my RV6. Maybe you might want to remove the VS some day. I removed mine while assembling the elevators after spending hours trying to get necessary spacers between the elevator horns and that center bearing. It took about 15 minutes to remove the VS and access to that area became wide open. I’m glad those bottom bolts were not installed with loctite. I think a lot of thought has gone into the design/assembly of these kits over the years. But good on you for asking the question. Builders have come up with some good ideas over the years that improve ease of assembly and other things - shared here on this website to the benefit of everyone - sometimes. Asking the question first on this forum usually results in some helpful suggestions. Sometimes it is an oh-s..t moment when we’ll all say, ‘why didn’t I think of that’. Most of those moments have already been breached, but keep trying.
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It looks like it does. Yet another good reason to not use the loctite. I am a first time builder, building anything in fact, so my plan is to built a stock RV14 with very little customization, if any. Of course after a couple of years building who knows...
