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Attaboy Vic

pvalovich

Well Known Member
Watched the Vic Syracuse RV Maintenance Tips on the EAA Webinar site last night. A very informative, well illustrated, concise - and sometimes scary - presentation of potential RV maintenance "gotchas". I came away with a written-down list of things to check on preflight and during condition inspections, along with a much better understanding of potential damage that can be caused by seemingly minor issues.

His real-life examples of inexplicable neglect do make one question whether some of us RV fliers have hidden death wishes.
 
It was a very valuable webinar. I've got Base Leg Aviation bookmarked now, and although I already have a DAR, it's tempting to pay a little extra to have Vic do a "Pre-Fly Inspection".
 
EAA Webinar Archives

Thank you for attending the "Vans RV Maintenance Gotchas" webinar. We hope you enjoyed our presentation.

EAA members can watch a recording of this webinar or watch any of our past webinars online by visiting our archives website.

View our upcoming webinars schedule online and register to reserve your spot.


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+1

Watched the Vic Syracuse RV Maintenance Tips on the EAA Webinar site last night. A very informative, well illustrated, concise - and sometimes scary - presentation of potential RV maintenance "gotchas". I came away with a written-down list of things to check on preflight and during condition inspections, along with a much better understanding of potential damage that can be caused by seemingly minor issues.

His real-life examples of inexplicable neglect do make one question whether some of us RV fliers have hidden death wishes.

Very informative. Vic did a great job. He sure had some scary looking pictures.
Thinking maybe I need one of those T shirts. :D
 
Glad you all enjoyed it, and yes the whole idea is to get you to go look at your airplane or your buddy's airplane. :)

Vic
 
Very informative seminar Vic! And the issues he identified on the RVs have universal application to all aircraft.

I had Vic perform my DAR inspection in April of this year and he found a potential safety of flight issue that I had overlooked. Easily corrected but could have been a real issue on the first flight.

Highly recommend Vic and the DAR services he provides.
 
Jam nuts

There is a thread on jam nuts, but Vic closed it.

No argument on jam nuts on horz/vert stabilizers. Vital for shank to provide sufficient strength.

But on push rods where one has ensured that the rod can rotate all the way to both ends and still be engaged to the safety hole (minimum threads always engaged at both ends), what really is the importance of jam nuts?

Worried that threads will wear out over time, if the rod should actually rotate?

Finn
 
for those, the jam nut is intended to be secondary retention to prevent the rod end from turning but they don't work very well because there is no distance between the nut and rod end to stretch the threaded portion to maintain clamp. they will become loose. put loctite on all jam nuts!

really good stuff from Vic. thank-you
 
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Worried that threads will wear out over time?

Yes, that is a very real failure mode.

Vibration (aircraft have a lot of it) can cause a push/pull rod to vibrate around the play/clearance that exists between two threaded components that are not locked tightly together (because of a loose jam nut).
Under the correct circumstances it is even possible for the vibration to excite a natural resonance which would greatly accelerate the wear. If the wear went undetected long enough, it get bad enough that a tension or compression load failure of the threads could occur.

This would be much more likely on assemblies that have softer thread material like the aluminum plug ends of the larger diameter push pull tubes but I have found severe wear in the threaded connections on engine control cable connections with a loose jam nut, where the rod end and cable end were both steel.
 
Thanks Vic,

I watched the recorded version last night...more good insight for us non-builder types. Enjoyed the first pre-buy process you participated in and hope we can soon find an exceptional replacement for "Bucky" and try it again.
 
Great webinar and screenshots galore.

Earlier this year I found my FAB was eating the carb heat flapper hinge.

Rather than try it myself, I contacted Vic and he agreed to fix it.

Boxed it up, went on my work trip and it was back when I got back at a reasonable fee!
 
But on push rods where one has ensured that the rod can rotate all the way to both ends and still be engaged to the safety hole (minimum threads always engaged at both ends), what really is the importance of jam nuts?


Scott already addressed the threads wearing out. Dead on.

But, yes, it is possible to roate the tube enough such that one end could come completely disconnected. It is a very serious safety of flight issue.

Vic
 
But on push rods where one has ensured that the rod can rotate all the way to both ends and still be engaged to the safety hole (minimum threads always engaged at both ends), what really is the importance of jam nuts?


Scott already addressed the threads wearing out. Dead on.

But, yes, it is possible to roate the tube enough such that one end could come completely disconnected. It is a very serious safety of flight issue.

Vic
 
...

But, yes, it is possible to roate the tube enough such that one end could come completely disconnected. It is a very serious safety of flight issue.

Vic
How would that be possible when one have made the length of the tube so long that adequate thread will always be engaged at either end no matter how much it rotates.

Anyhow, the thread wear argument has me convinced of the need for (tight) jam nuts even when the tube cannot rotate out of threads.

Finn
 
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Received My Email

Received my email link yesterday, plan to sit down this Saturday and watch, will have pen paper ready for notes. Hoping to get an updated checklist item or two.

Did not know until the other day that these webinars from EAA are available after the main presentation. Have seen a few I wanted to take, but my work hours here in Alaska mean they start before I get off from work to watch them.

Will be going back through the archives to watch the ones I've missed.

Best regards,
Mike Bauer
 
How would that be possible when one have made the length of the tube so long that adequate thread will always be engaged at either end no matter how much it rotates.
Finn

I think the danger of 1 or both ends fully separating is due to the travel of the attached control surface. The attached surfaces move plenty to allow one threaded end to come out or pull apart. Without that amount of travel the control surfaces wouldn’t have the travel required for control inputs.

I see your point about the threads when there are opposing rod end bearings, but what happens if one rod end starts with fewer threads? Still seems like one could pull apart before the other bearing stops the movement.
 
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ELT logging question

Will be going back through the archives to watch the ones I've missed.

I've revisited many of Mike Busch's webinars, and always learn quite a bit from him.

So I'm still a bit confused by what is required for logging the ELT checks. I do the every 3 month "test" on my ACK ELT (press the test button within 5 minutes of the top of the hour), and do the annual shake test and check all of the battery expiration dates from my records.
Am I required to make a separate logbook entry of these in my records?
Currently, I have a "maintenance" document I keep online and in my hangar to remind me of upcoming deadlines for things like oil changes, tire pressure checks, BFR/medical/XPNDR checks, etc. Is this acceptable as a logging of the ELT checks?
 
In almost 7yrs of RV ownership, that was one of the most valuable hours I?ve spent learning just how little I know about maintaining these beautiful machines. Well done Vic, thanks for what you do for the community
 
I've revisited many of Mike Busch's webinars, and always learn quite a bit from him.

So I'm still a bit confused by what is required for logging the ELT checks. I do the every 3 month "test" on my ACK ELT (press the test button within 5 minutes of the top of the hour), and do the annual shake test and check all of the battery expiration dates from my records.
Am I required to make a separate logbook entry of these in my records?
Currently, I have a "maintenance" document I keep online and in my hangar to remind me of upcoming deadlines for things like oil changes, tire pressure checks, BFR/medical/XPNDR checks, etc. Is this acceptable as a logging of the ELT checks?

Typically the FAA requires that we log all required inspections and tests. 91.207(d) requires a once a year test and inspection of our ELT so a logbook record in that aircraft logbook is required. My typical log entry is: Date, Hobbs time, "Inspect and Test ELT In Accordance With 91.207(d)." Name, A&P # 123456789
 
Great presentation!

Just watched it - very good. I was feeling pretty smug through most of it then was slapped back to reality with three things I need to check. Really helpful, thanks a lot Vic for doing this.
 
I Really want to thank all of you who watched the webinar the other night (almost 950) and those of you who have watched it since (almost 450). That's over 10% of the fleet and that's the whole intention---to spread the word about items that will increase the safety.

I know the webinar ran too long to answer all of the questions. Timm has forwarded the questions to me, and I have been answering some of your questions via emails as well. I am thinking I will put together another webinar ASAP to share some clarifications and answer some of the questions, as well as address some of them in upcoming columns in Sport Aviation.

Thanks for all of the kind words, too. Huge kudos to those of you who are checking your own airplanes. :)

Vic
 
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