Tip: E-Z Aileron Pushrod Seals

[bigginsking]

So I finally put in aileron pushrod seals... last ski trip to Mammoth was really cold and motivated me to find a good way to do it, I know there are off the shelf solutions but I wasn't crazy about the way they worked.

I really like what I came up with and should have taken pictures. I'll do my best with the description.

The fuselage sides where the pushrod comes through is a double wall. The pushrod hole is flared out to add stiffness. Because of the flare there is a gap between the layers.

I made a spring clip(or snap ring if you like) that fits in that gap and holds the fixed side of the seal. To get the spring clip shape right I cut a pushrod sized hole in a piece of cardboard, held the cardboard on the outside and then marked it from the inside.

I used 1/16 piano wire from a hobby shop, on one end I put a 1/2 inch right angle bend that points to the center of the clip to allow easy removal of the spring clip with a pair of pliers.

For the seal I used thin ripstop nylon. The goal is to make a tube with it that is a little larger than the pushrod hole. Then the spring clip forces the nylon into the gap.

To make the tube in place I cut a rectangle of nylon that was about 7 inches by the circumference of the hole plus an inch or so. The extra inch is to make overlap room for a seam.

I used 2 small pieces of tape on 2 corners of the rectangle to hold one edge of the nylon to the pushrod, smeared vinyl adhesive(shoo goo) on the edge and then pressed the opposite edge in to place to complete the seam and complete the nylon tube around the pushrod. Use the pushrod to press against but keep in mind, this is just gluing nylon to nylon, not to the pushrod!

After the shoo goo sets up you remove the tape, put the spring clip inside the tube on the side closest to the fuselage and work the spring clip into the gap.

After this is done push the control in the direction that pulls the pushrod through the fuse and zip tie the free end of the tube to the pushrod.

Didn't take too long to do, I think it will stay in place for a while and cost was less than $10.

We'll see if it's warmer next time my OAT hits 12 F

Bill Judge
N84WJ, RV-8, 857 hrs.
http://rv-8.blogspot.com/