[Mark Henderson]

I installed the rudder pedals yesterday. I don't know how much drag there should be in this type setup. I used a thin kerf Japanese saw to split the blocks. Using the L washers I have about .005" clearance. On the bench this seemed ok.With the pedals installed, even without the bolts fully torqued, there is a a lot of drag. I'd estimate about 3 or 4 lbs. I found a couple of comments in past threads about friction, but no answers about how free they should be. If I go to a standard washer, I am concerned about slop. I can always make spacers to adjust the clearance. The question is, what am I looking for? I don't like the fit I have. I'm thinking it would have helped to have polished the tubes with crocus clothe before assembly. Perhaps a dry lubricant as well. How free do your pedals move? Thanks in advance.

 

[Kyle Boatright]

I installed the rudder pedals yesterday. I don't know how much drag there should be in this type setup. I used a thin kerf Japanese saw to split the blocks. Using the L washers I have about .005" clearance. On the bench this seemed ok.With the pedals installed, even without the bolts fully torqued, there is a a lot of drag. I'd estimate about 3 or 4 lbs. I found a couple of comments in past threads about friction, but no answers about how free they should be. If I go to a standard washer, I am concerned about slop. I can always make spacers to adjust the clearance. The question is, what am I looking for? I don't like the fit I have. I'm thinking it would have helped to have polished the tubes with crocus clothe before assembly. Perhaps a dry lubricant as well. How free do your pedals move? Thanks in advance.

Expect some breakout force to be required on newly assembled pedals unless you polish everything during assembly. After a few hours of use, the pedals will free up because the steel will polish the UHMW to fit.

Freely rotating or with a little breakout force, either will be fine.

 

[smokenjoe50]

The plans call for a L at the head of the bolt and a regular AN washer between the blocks. Mine are torqued and have little to no resistance.

 

[PCHunt]

Less friction is better

I recently removed the entire rudder pedal assembly from my purchased RV-6A and rebuilt it with new Grove cylinders and added right-side brakes at the same time. There was a lot of friction in the pedals, so I enlarged the holes in the Delrin blocks, until they would swing freely. I used a small sanding "tube" on a Dremel.

I would estimate that there is almost zero breakout force on the pedals with the rudder cables disconnected. They swing very freely. I use two springs to provide some tension on the rudder cables, and my system has low enough friction to allow the springs to return the rudder to near neutral when on the ground. Unnoticeable in flight, as the aerodynamic forces are far stronger than the springs.

I "hate" breakout friction on any flight control!!

Love those adjustable Grove master cylinders!