[gmshelley]

Fellow builders,
It appears after installing my rudder pedals, vert stab/rudder, and attached the cables. I have limited rudder travel.
While positioning the rudder stops, I found with the rudder is about 1 in. from the stop at full deflection. It looks like the rudder travel is limited by the pedal aft travel.
Just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this along with any suggestions.

 

[N282RV]

I had the same problem. I called vans and checked with my idea for solving this and they approved. This included releving the steel bracket that is causing the interferance, this did not need very much taken off as a little goes a long way at the end of the rudder pedals. I just used a die grinder with a rough scotchbrite pad and made a nice curve while still leaving enough "meat" for the bolt that goes through there. Ensure that the bracket is in the right posistion as if I remember right it might be possible to put in one backwards.... Just something I remember triple checking before I called vans, usually when I think I have a problem they point out how it is my oversight, but not on this one if your problem lies where the master cylinder mounts to the bar/bracket.
I can send you pics if you want but not right this second, but if you need just let me know.
Jeremy
Keep pounding, well all get there some day
N282RV
Finish kit
Getting to the really expensive stuff

 

[DanH]

Connected the rudder cables yesterday and didn't have full swing to the stops. Tracked it back to the brake cylinders. A quick search turned up this thread, so I'm bumping it to the top. I suspect this one exists in a few flying airplanes.

Here's the deal. When you push a rudder pedal, the opposite master cylinder moves to a position like "B". There can be a clearance problem between the lower cylinder mount tab and the edge of the cylinder. You can see the contact point at "A":



The previous poster suggested cutting away some of the mount tab. I'm not so sure I want to do that. A panic leg push can apply very high stress, and you would be cutting the tension side of the tab. Instead I'd suggest using a small diameter round file and simply relieving the edge of the slot in the cylinder. Plenty of material there, and it doesn't change the stress picture at all:



This is probably something which should be checked at each annual. As the rudder stop wears the clearance under the cylinder will be reduced. Easy to check....just push one rudder pedal forward until the rudder hits the stop, then see if the other pedal will move a bit further rearward. If it will, you have clearance under the cylinder. If not, pull the cylinders and get some clearance before you break a tab and have no brake.

 

[skylor]

The previous poster suggested cutting away some of the mount tab. I'm not so sure I want to do that. A panic leg push can apply very high stress, and you would be cutting the tension side of the tab.

I found the same problem when setting up the pedals on my RV-8 a couple of years ago. I was able to grind the clearance on the mounting tab of the weldment without reducing the the cross section any smaller than the narrowest area of the tab. I used a die grinder with a carbide tip followed by a sanding drum, and was able to maintain a nice radius/curvature on the tab so as to not create any stress concentrations in the part. As I recall, I didn't have to remove very much material to give the master cylinder adequate rearward travel.

Skylor
RV-8
Just Finished Phase 1!