[jlfernan]

Today I was fine tuning my control sick to elevator connection. I had to remove some material from the floor ribs to allow the stick full forward deflection without hitting the ribs. This is when I found that the rivets which attach the center four seat ribs to the main spar(F-904-B) had not been squeezed. The rivets were in the holes, but not set. Plus one hole had been countersunk a little deep and it took a little creative riveting to set it tight. This again enforces the need to double check the work done by the QB folks. Hope there aren't anymore in places I can't check. Also, how much material have people had to remove from the seat ribs for clearence?

 

[Finley Atherton]

Also, how much material have people had to remove from the seat ribs for clearence?

Jorge,
Some points to consider.
Moving the neutral position of the stick aft will reduce the fwd travel required.
Are you setting the fwd position of the stick based on the down travel of the elevator (in degrees) from the neutral position or when the elevator horn/horns hit the fwd fuselage stop? In my aircraft the fwd stop allowed down elevator travel past the specified limit. I think this was a common problem in the RV-9 caused by the stop not being big enough. I think I read somewhere on VAF that current kits have a larger stop to give the correct travel. In my case I had to rivet a small piece of 1/8” angle to the elevator horn where the horn contacted the fwd fuselage stop to give the correct max elevator travel.
Hope this helps.

Fin
9A

 

[ccarter]

Place witty title here...

Today I was fine tuning my control sick to elevator connection. I had to remove some material from the floor ribs to allow the stick full forward deflection without hitting the ribs. This is when I found that the rivets which attach the center four seat ribs to the main spar(F-904-B) had not been squeezed. The rivets were in the holes, but not set. Plus one hole had been countersunk a little deep and it took a little creative riveting to set it tight. This again enforces the need to double check the work done by the QB folks. Hope there aren't anymore in places I can't check. Also, how much material have people had to remove from the seat ribs for clearence?

I used my dremel with a tiny grinder bit to adjust for clearance. I don't recall exactly how much but I would guess less than a 16th of an inch. This is "after" the full elevator travel was measured using a digital Smart Tool, up and down stops riveted in place, the aircraft level (leveled using the Smart Tool) and deflection set per Van's specifications in degrees.

 

[jlfernan]

It's OK

Jorge,
Some points to consider.
Moving the neutral position of the stick aft will reduce the fwd travel required.
Are you setting the fwd position of the stick based on the down travel of the elevator (in degrees) from the neutral position or when the elevator horn/horns hit the fwd fuselage stop? In my aircraft the fwd stop allowed down elevator travel past the specified limit. I think this was a common problem in the RV-9 caused by the stop not being big enough. I think I read somewhere on VAF that current kits have a larger stop to give the correct travel. In my case I had to rivet a small piece of 1/8” angle to the elevator horn where the horn contacted the fwd fuselage stop to give the correct max elevator travel.
Hope this helps.

I set the neutral position by setting the elevators in trail. I set the bellcrank to neutral. The forward pushtube was set exactly to plans. The rear tube's rod end bearings were screwed in to meet with the elevator control horns and to give the required travel to the elevators. This was checked with a smarttool level and they're within spec. In order to allow the stick full travel, I had to remove some material. Before I left for work today I decided to take the logical route and actually measure things. According to the plans it says to "cut a 1 1/2" hole using the existing 1/8" dia hole as center and trim as shown". Using one of the outside ribs for comparison, it's obvious the QB builders didn't do this. The amount of material I removed is what the plans say to remove. So I'm good.

 

[vlittle]

Here's my experience:

 

[jlfernan]

Looks just like mine!

 

[Rick_A]

Rib "doors"

I put the rib "doors" (F-716B) that Van's designed for the inner most 2 ribs in those ribs also. This allowed me to assemble more of the control column on the bench. I had that thing in and out so many times, I'm really glad I did it this way. Trimming the rib to the contour of the F-716B plate provided the necessary clearance.