Need Help With Rigging Issue

On my first few flights in my 7A, I had a heavy left wing. I squeezed the trailing edge of the right aileron and was able to trim hands free in cruise flight. The ball is centered with no trim tab on the rudder & the elevators are in trail with the horizontal stab in cruise. So I was pretty happy with the way it handles in cruise.

The issue I am having is now when I slow down, the plane wants to roll right(where it was rolling left before I tweeked the aileron). The slower I get, the more pronounced the roll to the right becomes. I have played around some with the right aileron trailing edge, but to no success.

I checked all the things that Van's recommends and nothing seems out of the ordinary. The only thing that may not be right on is when a digital level is placed on the horizontal stablizer, the right side is a couple of tenths of a degree higher. Don't know if this could cause the roll.

I would think that the faster I go the more pronounced an out of rig issue would be, but it seems to get worse ar lower speeds. It starts to roll to the right around 140 mph & the rolling tendency increases as it gets slower. Even with full flaps on final at 80 mph, it I let go of the stick, it will roll right. I have the manual spring aileron trim, but at the slower speeds it will not hold the trim. I'm just not sure what to check, any thoughts are appreciated.

Bob

Trimming

Hi Bob,

You are not going to be able to have everything perfect trim in all flight modes. If you are in trim in cruise you will have some trim issues at lower power settings.

I would suggest trying a trim tab on the rudder and test the results. In my case in cruise flight my 7 was slightly (very little) out, needing a little right rudder. I put on a trim tab and set for cruise flight. It took two quick flights to get it perfect. In cruise, I can fly feet flat. When I reduce power it is ever so lightly out to the left. I don't even notice anymore.

The rudder trim may provide you with the little bit of roll you need as well as center the ball.

Remember for a while the word "Trim" is a verb!!!

When under power, torque causes the airplane to roll left. If you rig the airplane to fly straight and level at cruise power, it will have a tendancy to roll right when the power is pulled back (because of the reduced prop torque).

The bottom line is that you can't set fixed trim tabs for your airplane's entire speed range. Most folks set the tabs so the airplane is in trim at cruise speed.

Fly for a while first

I would recommend to anybody not to do anything during phase I, or at least for quite a few hours unless it is really out of wack. Did you have wheel pants and leg fairings installed? They can make a big difference.
You can not have everything perfect as previously stated. My left wing is still a bit heavy, but perfect with a passenger, so I live with it as I do not have aileron trim unless I engage my AP.
Once you have a bunch of hours on the airplane you can decide what you really need to address.