B

Brian130

Well Known Member
So I jumped into the project tonight and made my first error. I'm not sure how serious, so that's where you come in. ;)

I match drilled HS-411A using HS-411B as a guide. This is the part that holds bearing VA-146 on the rear of the HS. Well, 411A and 411B are a bit off. Not much, and you can't really even see it, but if you put it on something level, it rocks a little bit like a guy with one leg shorter than the other. So... is it a big deal? I clecoed it to the spars and it seems to work just fine and, like I said, you can't tell it's not aligned especially when VA-146 is clecoed in and it's on the spar.

Thanks!
 
tractor

. . . or as the guys at Van's told me, "you aren't building an F22, it's more like a farm tractor."
 
I'm thinking if it were REALLY bad, you could always put a shim under the high side if you had to. Just move on for now:

1) you won't need that bearing to do anything useful for years

2) you need to take it off anyway to cutout the bottom of the spar for elevator horn travel (if you want dimensions, let me know...they're not on the plans, but it's infinitely easier to do it BEFORE you rivet everything together)

3) By the time you get around to actually needing that bearnig in place, you'll know better than to worry about a little wobbling and you'll have this cute little moment where you think back and laugh at the things you used to worry about.
 
Brian

Brian,

These guys are right. Just move on. Do do the evevator horne cut out now.
 
Brian,
If it makes you feel better. I did something that will make you laugh. I had a blind moment, and some how missed seeing the holes that were already drilled in the VA 146 bearing. So after what seem like an hour, of getting it centered and aligned in the 411 angles, I drilled six more matching holes right beside the ones that were already in there. It looked cool, but I decided since the holes were pretty close to the other, to order a new one.

John,

I would like the dimensions, so that I can cutout the bottom of the spar for elevator horn travel.

Thanks,
Steven
 
My cutout is about 1 1/16" either side of center. The depth is about flush with the spar doubler (I couldn't quite go that low for fear of nicking the doubler, but if you make it flush you're golden).

Maybe someone else here can measure their's and double check me.
 
Last edited:
I feel obligated to steer this topic a little bit for minute, and then return it to its previous course.

I'm not necessarily disagreeing with any of the previous comments. Most of the time when you make a small "uh-oh" or "boo-boo" it's probably not a huge deal. A quick call to Van's typically confirms this. Another way to confirm is to have your local EAA Technical Counselor take a look in person.

The internet & digital photography is terrific. It allows us to reach certain conclusions and share info much more quickly. But sometimes things get lost. Maybe it's the way somebody interprets how the issue was described...as slightly different from the way the person describing it meant it. Maybe the photo doesn't show "all angles" and doesn't show the finer detail.

I can't tell you how many "IM conversations" I've had with builders who have trouble clearly communicating the issue (again, not at all saying that's what's happening here, just making a point).

And then you get "builders helping builders" -- which in and of itself is fantastic. But are the opinions expert opinions? Would a tech counselor's opinion even be an "expert" opinion for that matter?! Hey, I'm not trying to devalue what we have here with web sites, email, and forums. I'm just trying to encourage builders to take things with a grain of salt. How well do you know the people you're getting advice from? (Again, I'm not suggesting there has been ANY bad advice...)

Much of the time, a builder "hears what he wants to hear" and moves on. Just make sure you hear it from a qualified source. And if you have the option of having somebody check your work in person, there really is no substitute for that in my opinion. I'm not trying to make a mountain out of a molehill, but we are talking about "flying machines" here, and safety & risk factor into the equation. Do the best you can, and that translates into doing the best you can when determining whether a boo-boo is really OK to leave alone.

Ok, I'm done with this little tirade. Be careful, and back to our normally scheduled program.
 
Last edited:
Dan. How much would it take you to drop into Lake Elmo Airport next time you're flying across country? I've had mixed success finding an EAA tech counselor. The first one that looked at the project a couple of times is a good guy, a heck of a pilot, but has never built a metal airplane. We had a nice chat and he looked the thing over and said "looks good" and signed the paperwork and that was that.

Occasionally, the president of the area RV builders group stops by and he's been very helpful, but I don't think he's an EAA tech counselor; he's just a good builder and willing pair of eyes. What I really need is someone to crawl around with a mirror and examine things closely...and as I'm about done with the guts of the fuse...now would be the time.

What would be great is to find a list of EAA tech counselors who've built RVs.
And, also, what is a fair amount of compensation for their time?
 
Bob Collins said:
Dan. How much would it take you to drop into Lake Elmo Airport next time you're flying across country?
Click to expand...
I doubt I could get up there anytime soon. The next time I'll be in that neck of the woods is in July for OSH, and my schedule for that week is kinda nuts...trying to fit in a lot of things (pre-OSH required formation weekend in order to fly in OSH, then OSH, then a trip to Boston, then home for work by Monday). I'll be out at OSH again in August for the SportAir workshop, and that might be a better time. But don't wait for me. I'm not exactly god's gift to tech counselors, I'm just nit-picky. There must be somebody good within less than 1317 nautical miles! :rolleyes:
Bob Collins said:
And, also, what is a fair amount of compensation for their time?
Click to expand...
Zero. EAA Technical Counselors are volunteers. Ok, well, maybe if they fly over 1300 nm, I guess you could offer them a cold drink or possibly some lunch. :)
 
Dan,

Point taken. I did, incidentally, take it to my last EAA meeting and showed it to a repeat offender who said it was just fine. I thought of posting a picture, but you really would have to handle it to tell - a picture wouldn't have clarified much. Thanks for the continued help!
 
The Right Stuff

Thought Dan?s earlier comments excellent.
You must get a ?qualified? opinion, if it has not turned out as per the plans. ESPECIALLY FOR FLIGHT CONTROLS!
(I confess to making phone calls, from Aus. for both the HS-411s and the Elevator Horns).

I also smiled at John?s reminiscing philosophy. It is exactly how it happens. You end up laughing into your beer one night when you remember the trifling things you worried about.
But of course, you WERE being smart.
You were admitting that you didn?t know if it mattered.
NEVER assume.
Pete.
 
Brian,
I had a similar problem. I drilled out (you get good at this) and rebuilt the assembly at a later stage, where I could cleco the assembly in position on the HS rear spar assembly before riverting around the bearing. When you think about it, this is the best way to get it all straight and true.
When I started, I had a fear of drilling out and rebuilding. Lately i have had to drill out perfectly good rivets because taht's the way Vans builds their QB fuselages. it is no big deal. Personally I would not want my main evelator control horn bearing assembled asymmetrically with the consequent unbalanced forces on the retaining nuts/bolts. I would drill out and rebuild as suggested.
You can see what I mean at-

http://www.anderton.net.au/rv7/HS.htm

Phil Anderton
Manilla, Australia
Emp finished, Working on QB wings and fuse
 
You must log in or register to reply here.