Rudder Trailing Edge Bowing

[Xilo_xatron]

Greetings,

Should a bow of 2/32" on the rudder trailing edge of an RV-7 be cause for concern? I checked the edge while I was riveting, but apparently did'nt catch it as it was bowing. I'm good at drilling out rivets! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[asu4me]

The allowable number I recall from the folks at Van's is <.100" bow, so you should be ok.

Jerry Kosirog
Mesa, AZ.
RV-7A (Wings)

[Xilo_xatron]

Thanks for the response....what flying qualities can one expect from a rudder that is not straight? I don't want to be too anal about it, however if I can fix the problem now, I would rather address it.

[asu4me]

I can't speak from facts since my -7 isn't yet flying, but I can't imagine that the amount of bow that you mention would make a noticeable difference.

Can someone else comment on this?

[fodrv7]

I managed to get mine straight by riveting alternative sides as I went, only riveting every 3rd or 4th rivet.

I can't see why you can't apply a little pressure with the rivet gun (Back riveting) to take the bow out. It is all solid aluminium so it can't be squashed, but just might squezze it enough to reomve the bow.

Pete.

[TJoyner]

I don't think it's a big deal. I'd just move on, and I bet after a while you won't even notice it...

[jcoloccia]

You're well within Van's specs which means it's as straight as it needs to be to fly as intended. It also means that making it straighter won't make any appreciable change in handling. So you can't really make it better but you CAN make it a whole lot worse. Something to ponder...

[morlino]

Just out of curiosity, did you use the method with the aluminum angle and tank sealant in the manual? If so was it straight before you riveted?

I followed the book and mine came out straight but I felt like it was a lot of extra time and work. I think it still would have come out straight if I had just riveted the pieces together. My practice kit was straight without the angle and the proseal, although that is considerable shorter than the rudder.

Oh well, I guess the tank sealant was good practice working with tank sealant for when I get my wings.

FWIW, drilling out that many rivets is probably not worth the trouble.

[Robert M]

I followed the instructions but I used regular 30 minute epoxy. It came out pretty darned straight but I know that using the regular epoxy will cause a catostrophic failure from the vibration of the engine when I do my first engine start.