Tip up hinge drilling edge distance ????

[miyu1975]

Think I may have a problem here but wanted to get some input first. The edge on my hinge came out a bit closer than I would have liked. about a 1/16th. With the brass inserts is this an issue?

[apkp777]

It looks pretty ugly. Your gonna get lot's of responses to this. I would give Van's a call on this one. I don't think that hole is particularly structural but I can imagine there could be problems with that.

You could add a .250 inch aluminum doubler (or a 1/8 stainless steel)on the OTBD side then remove .250 from the plastic block. Redrill and install a longer bushing. I'd say that's the easiest solution. Van's may say this is acceptable.

[miyu1975]

I did receive and email back from vans today. They said to look around town for a TIG welder to weld it shut and redrill....or to buy a new part...200$

[Bavafa]

Ouch, that does not look to good
Here is how I did this part to avoid the exact situation. I first drilled my hinge exactly where I wanted it (0.250" from all side) sandwiched it in between the UHMW plastic blocks as it supposed to be, then clamp them all as one unit in place and then drill the UHMW to the ribs.

Hope it makes sense and good luck.

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by miyu1975

I did receive and email back from vans today. They said to look around town for a TIG welder to weld it shut and redrill....or to buy a new part...200$

I have done this repair before...it is not too big of a deal.

1. Push out the bushings.
2. Have someone good at aluminum welding, weld both holes for you.
3. Flat file the welds to make it a flat surface on both sides.
4. This step is important Make two steel bushings that are 3/16" O.D and about 5/32" I.D. The actual I.D. isn't all that critical. You are going to use the bushings as a drill guide to drill undersized pilot holes in the ears of the frame. This will prevent you from messing up the holes in the UHMW blocks.
5. Do any necessary trimming on the canopy deck skin to allow you position the canopy more forward and properly align the ears of the canopy frame. You can mark the desired hole locations and then use a light and a mirror to view in the hole before you commit to drilling.
6. Climb in the airplane with an angle drill with a drill bit that matches the I.D of your bushings.
7. You and a helper set the canopy in place with you inside. Verify again with the mirror that it is properly located.
8. Have your helper tape the canopy tightly down to the fuselage with some strategically placed pieces of duct tape (primarily between the forward deck skin and the fuselage sides).
9. Drill the two holes through the drill bushings.
10. Remove the canopy. Enlarge the holes to proper size in a couple of incremental steps. Install bushings.
11. Continue building.

[rvbuilder2002]

Originally Posted by rvbuilder2002

I have done this repair before...it is not too big of a deal.

1. Push out the bushings.
2. Have someone good at aluminum welding, weld both holes for you.
3. Flat file the welds to make it a flat surface on both sides.
4. This step is important Make two steel bushings that are 3/16" O.D and about 5/32" I.D. The actual I.D. isn't all that critical. You are going to use the bushings as a drill guide to drill undersized pilot holes in the ears of the frame. This will prevent you from messing up the holes in the UHMW blocks.
5. Do any necessary trimming on the canopy deck skin to allow you position the canopy more forward and properly align the ears of the canopy frame. You can mark the desired hole locations and then use a light and a mirror to view in the hole before you commit to drilling.
6. Climb in the airplane with an angle drill with a drill bit that matches the I.D of your bushings.
7. You and a helper set the canopy in place with you inside. Verify again with the mirror that it is properly located.
8. Have your helper tape the canopy tightly down to the fuselage with some strategically placed pieces of duct tape (primarily between the forward deck skin and the fuselage sides).
9. Drill the two holes through the drill bushings.
10. Remove the canopy. Enlarge the holes to proper size in a couple of incremental steps. Install bushings.
11. Continue building.

After looking at your photo again it looks like you may need to also redo the blocks for the left side. Moving the frame fwd will correct your edge distance problem at the front edge but it will still be very close to the edge at the top. The one on the right side looks like it would be fine.

[gasman]

So Scott, as you know, on the six, C-619 came drilled and the bushing was installed. All we had to do was find the right position and drill to F-646 and F-644. This was not a problem at all................ So why was it changed? Looks like it has created a problem for many builders.

If I was doing a seven, I think that I would drill and install the bushings on the bench with ref to a six drawing........ looking for minor changes..... and then fit it like a six.

[miyu1975]

Luckily I have a friend master builder of RVs in Indy and a master TIG welder. He was able to simply weld enough edge distance on the hinge and managed to keep the drilled hole in tact...I filed it down a little and reinserted the bronze bushing....fits perfect now..

[miyu1975]

nope....mine opens and closes just like it did prior to welding. The original hole was not welder or compromised. Right now I am working on the WD 725 and F 631s..but everything (so far) is fitting fine....hope it stays that way.