Aileron Pushrod length question

[Z-EDD]

Originally Posted by CubedRoot

I’m about to cut my pushrods and was wanting to know if any of you guys had any issues with cutting longer?

Larry, did your dimensions work out ok?

I decided to add 3/8s to my second set which worked out fine when I rigged everything last month. Sorry I don't have any photos and the plane is in the paint shop. Works out to 66 5/32nds for the tube length. Wonder if the 2 is a typo?

Another theory on this. Vans probably intended the VA-111 and tube to be drilled together at precisely minimum edge distance for the rivets. If a cautious builder were to add 1/16th extra edge margin to each part, at both ends, then the pushrod would end up 1/4 inch shorter than intended! I suspect that this is what happened to my first set of pushrods. Perhaps looking at the overall dimension would be the best way to go.

[CubedRoot]

Well gents, I made the leap and cut my tubes tonight. I used the bolt-in-the-bench method to figure out what length the tubes needed to be cut to assure the 69 9/32" total length from the rod end to rod end.

It appears that for my tubes, 66" of length, maybe 65 15/16", would be the ideal length. This let me thread my rod ends to the halfway point on their threads, AND gave me 1/4" of clearance for the rivets in the VA-111 end joint.

I detail it here on my blog post: https://theskunkwerx.com/rv7/aileron...-tubes-part-2/

Really happy with the way they came out for now. I hope that 69 9/32" is the exact length we need. I am only halfway on the threads on each heim joint / rod end so there should be plenty of adjustability.