When installing my roll servo, I discovered a discrepancy between Van's instructions and Garmin's instructions. Drawings are below:
Van's has you put a nut plate in the bellcrank for the bolt that holds the autopilot pushrod. This means that the head of the bolt is on the bottom of the assembly and therefore has gravity as an enemy. In addition, I'm not sure about using a nutplate and threads to hold a bolt that is responsible for holding a moving/rotating part. However, I've found that Van's usually has a pretty good reason for nearly everything they design. Drawing below:
Garmin has the bolt inserted from the top and is capped with a nylock nut on the bottom. This allows the bolt to rotate (if needed) and seems proper. I hesitate to install using this method until I understand why Van's has a different approach. Drawing below.
Most of the web sites I've visited for the RV-14 have the bellcrank/pushrod installed as per the top picture. Seems to me that the Garmin design is better.
Thoughts?
Van's has you put a nut plate in the bellcrank for the bolt that holds the autopilot pushrod. This means that the head of the bolt is on the bottom of the assembly and therefore has gravity as an enemy. In addition, I'm not sure about using a nutplate and threads to hold a bolt that is responsible for holding a moving/rotating part. However, I've found that Van's usually has a pretty good reason for nearly everything they design. Drawing below:
Garmin has the bolt inserted from the top and is capped with a nylock nut on the bottom. This allows the bolt to rotate (if needed) and seems proper. I hesitate to install using this method until I understand why Van's has a different approach. Drawing below.
Most of the web sites I've visited for the RV-14 have the bellcrank/pushrod installed as per the top picture. Seems to me that the Garmin design is better.
Thoughts?