NYTOM

NYTOM

Well Known Member
After installing the right aileron to adjust the rigging I was surprised to find the aileron racked ( twisted) about 5/8 of a inch for the length of it. :eek: The skin was pre-punched but the ribs were not. I guess I screwed up someplace. Anybody else have something like this happen? The left one is perfect and the first one I fabricated. The rights been hanging on the wall for a year and I never even noticed it. Boy am I ever depressed. Talk about a show stopper. Already sucked it up and called Van's. Oh well. They say for ever great RV out there there's an equal pile of screwed parts behind the hangar.:rolleyes:
 
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racked aileron

Tom,
Just drill out the bottom "pop" rivets and bottom end rib rivets on your aileron. Then realign the aileron and reset the rivets. You'd be surprised how little movement in aligment is needed to correct your twist. I used some Scotch Weld (DP190) between the mating surfaces to insure a good bond before the second riveting.
If you enlarge the end rib rivet holes significantly during the drill out, you can use 1097 rivets to replace the original rivets.
Blue skies,
Chuck
 
I just knew somebody could help

Thanks Chuck. It's definitely worth a try. The twist is so small you can't even see it till it's installed. Then its sticks out like a sore thumb. I'll update the results.
 
I have a similar problem - more like 1/4 in though.

I think the twist sneaks in when you rivet the galvanized steel pipe to the nose ribs. Then unless you are careful to hold everything on a flat surface when drilling the rib flanges the twist gets frozen in.

There was another thread asking about this and it's affect/sensitivity regarding handling and performance. Basically how much twist is too much?

Jim Sharkey
RV6 - Nearly there but -
Stalled for a month due to project being in unheated upstate NY hangar:(
It's cold up here.
 
Results

Well I drilled out all the pop rivets and the end rivets and the whole aileron straightened right out. ;) It laid perfectly flat on a flat surface. The original twist turned out to be more like 3/4". After I discovered it I can't believe I didn't notice it hanging on the wall. It was BAD. :eek: I thought I might be able to re-rivet the skin as suggested by Chuck Brietigam but it was too far out of whack. All the rivet holes along the bottom where the skin joins together were at least 3/4 of a hole off. :( New parts coming in the brown truck.
$125.00 lesson well learned.:eek:
 
racked aileron

Hello Tom,
I'm sorry that my suggestion fell short of helping. One of my ailerons came out with a 3/16th of an inch twist. I corrected it by using the above mentioned procedure. After drilling out the rivets, the rivet hole misalignment was minor and only a few AN1097 rivets were used in the end ribs. But, now from your post, I realize there are limits.
Good luck with the rest of your project,
Blue skies,
Chuck
 
Help appreciated

Hey Chuck I appreciate the help. It was worth a try. I'm sure I could have repaired it to airworthy status but it would have definitely looked like a botched up aileron. Maybe not to the unwashed masses but to every RV guy out there. For a little over a hundred bucks and a few nights work I'm gonna make it all go away.;)
 
I had a similar problem with my trim tabs on my -10. All looked good until I fitted them to the elevator and then the twist stood out a mile - again, only about 5/8". I will redo them but with the whole thing clamped to the bench when I rivet the spar and also random rivet rather than starting at one end. As you say, an expensive lesson but when you factor it in to the overall cost, it's peanuts - let's get it right - RIGHT?
 
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