Help..Heavy right wing after aileron repair.

[chirorobacord]

My rv6-a was backed into a beam inside the hangar which resulted in left aileron damage. There was enough of a crack the A&P felt it needed to be re-skinned. He sent it off and the repair was made and a 441 form was provided. Now the plane requires full left trim and left stick pressure at cruise speed. Any thoughts for what I believe is a very minor correction. I don't want it over-corrected! Thanks in advance!

[pierre smith]

Rob, Van's method of correcting a heavy wing is to gently squeeze the aileron of the LIGHT wing at the trailing edge. If there's a slight 'bulge' an inch or so forward of the edge, it needs to be flattened with a wide jawed vice grip ( a seaming pliers). Only do about 4-6" at a time and go fly. This has worked on countless RV's.

Best,

[g zero]

What did the A&P tell you after you test flew it ? If he can't figure it out , find a new mechanic !
Tom A

[chirorobacord]

Thanks Pierre....A&P said he didn't feel comfortable bumping the edge with a hammer protected by a piece of wood.

[tc1234c]

Agree with Pierre. Here is a link to an earlier thread:

http://www.vansairforce.com/communit...ad.php?t=74832

Most likely your new aileron has a twist or the trailing edge is not straight.

[drill_and_buck]

Deja vu.

I too have an RV-8 that was backed into a beam that required me to reskin an aileron. This happened before the first flight. I ended up with a heavy wing. After double checking all areas (including straightening a fiberglass wingtip) I took a pair of calipers and measured the trailing edges of both ailerons and found a very slight difference. I slowly decreased the fatter one over a series of a few flights to eliminate the heavy wing.

Good luck,
Mike

[PCHunt]

Originally Posted by chirorobacord

My rv6-a was backed into a beam inside the hangar which resulted in left aileron damage. There was enough of a crack the A&P felt it needed to be re-skinned. He sent it off and the repair was made and a 441 form was provided. Now the plane requires full left trim and left stick pressure at cruise speed. Any thoughts for what I believe is a very minor correction. I don't want it over-corrected! Thanks in advance!

BTW, and just for the record: You don't need an A&P to do work on an Experimental Amateur Built (EAB) aircraft. "Any Person" may work on an EAB aircraft. Having said that, there is certainly nothing wrong with getting an A&P to do the work.

Not sure what a form 441 is, you sure it wasn't a form 337? In either case, no forms are required for work performed on an EAB aircraft, just properly document the work performed in the aircraft maintenance records.

You have received good advice on how to fix a "heavy" wing in previous posts. You can do the work yourself, if you would like to!!