T

Tom Navar

Well Known Member
The outboard aileron brackets on my RV8QB do not fall perpendicular to the aft spar, as shown in the plans. Rather, they "cant" slightly inward by about 3-5 degrees. This creates two problems: Fiirst, when applying the mounting bolt through the bracket bearing, there is some interference between the washer nearest to the bearing on the outboard side, and the lower radius of the outer bracket surface. The second problem is with the inboard bracket: The aluminum spacer is now longer than what the plan specifies, and I've had to alter the washer thicknesses and number to accommodate the aileron bracket without squeezing or spreading it. There is also some interplay between the pushrod that comes through the aft spar and the inner curvature of the spar orifice, indicating a need to widen it by about 1/4 inch. Van's tells me I can use a smaller washer on the outboard bracket to eliminate the interference, but I would greatly appreciate the input of those who may have had this situation. Thank you very much.
Tom Navar
RV-8QB
C-180
Pitts S2A
 
It sounds like you have the brackets already attached to the spar. If not, and you are just fitting it up, you should see what is keeping them from being "vertical".... sometimes the end rib web sticks out a little and holds the braket away from the rear spar end.... in that case a couple of taps with a mallet on the rib might suffice to allow the braket to sit pretty much square....

If on the other hand you have it on already, then Van's tech help suggestion sounds fine... the bearings are "self aligning" and as such don't care about slight variations...
 
Me too

I had the same problem on one wing, only mine was canted outboard. After judiciously padding the bracket with a couple of small pieces of plywood, I used my XXL Cresent wrench to gingerly tweak it into position. All good now.
 
I have the same problem on my outboard brkt left wing. I thought about drilling and using a shim. But I'm going to try the tweaking method first.

i think the cause is drilling the holes in the outboard main rib too far aft. You need to clamp the brkt staight before you drill those holes.

I also thought about using a turned down washer if I can't get the brkt. straight enough.
 
On my RV-7 QB wings the outboard ribs sat proud of the aft spar, which caused the brackets to cant inward. I laid a block of wood across the rib/spar junction and gave it a couple of love taps prior to riveting the brackets. Squared them right up.
 
I remember on my 6

The outboard rib at the end rib and the rear spar was attached with countersunk head rivets.

Your is a different model that I have not worked on but I do remember that I had to flatten the aft part of the rib a little (carefully) with a bar and a hammer to get the Aileron bracket to be flat against the aft outboard portion of that last rib.

Rule of thumb, "If the fit doesn't look right with clekos in it, it won't get much better with rivets in it"

Hope this helps, with holes drilled and rivets installed, your corrections options may need to be much different.
 
Aileron brackets

Thank you all for your suggestions. I'm going to give the aileron brackets a long, hard look, and make my mind up as to the fix. It seems that I spend a great deal of shop time just looking at problem items, and coming up with solutions. I don't add that time into my construction log, because I could come up with a much greater number of hours Than originally estimated. For sure, and specially at night, with some soft tunes on the radio, the thing becomes therapeutic, and I get a great deal of satisfaction when the solution is reached. Thanks again. What an awesome bunch of people.
TN
 
Go for it Tom!

I was initially a bit concerned about bending it into position, but short of dismantling and rebuilding the wing, there just didn't seem to be any help for it. The actual deed was very anticlimatic - very quick and didn't require a lot of force. It takes only a small angular change to move the aft end of the bracket a fair amount (about 1/4") in my case.
 
aileron brackets

Thank you, William. I'll be back at the shop this weekend, and hope to fix it without difficulty. I'll report the results here.
TN
 
Another solution

I just ran into the same problem. Mine were canted inboard. Here's what I came up with. Figured I'd post it in case someone else finds it useful.

Tweaking with a custom made tool:
20071208-02-tn.jpg


After tweaking:
20071208-04-tn.jpg


Take care,

Mike Cencula
RV-7A (wings)
http://www.our7a.com
 
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