N18RA

N18RA

Active Member
I have started to fly my new to me RV-8 and have a question that I cant find an answer to in the archives.

What amount of slack or dead spot is normal to see when you move the throttle. I can move the throttle about 1/4'' and i get no response from the engine. it makes making small changes to the throttle setting difficult.

I have checked all the connections and everything is secure. the free play is in the throttle cable itself.

Any suggestions would be helpful

Ben
 
nspection

Hey Ben,
Have a helper mover the throttle back and forth while you look for the slop. A finger places on the various connections will locate any play that is not visible. A quarter inch seems excessive to me. I replace ball ends at about .020" slop. Do you have a quadrant or vernier? (SP.?)
 
When I say 1/4", that is how far the throttle handle moves. I have the standard quadrant in the plane. I know the cable has a few bends in it, they can't be helped. I just need to know how much play is normal. The plane is new to me and I am still learning the differences in it versus what I am used to.
Thanks for the input.
 
Normal? I don't have any noticeable play at all, and I have 1400 hours on my -8. I would say that if you have play, you have something worn (or loose) that needs to be found.

Paul
 
Slack

I've bought certified vernier throttle cables that had the same problem. I have always thought the throttle should be spring loaded to the open position. If done correctly it would move all the slack to one end and move the throttle to the wide open position if the linkage failed. I don't know if it is practical in this application as I'm a long way from thinking about throttle cables.
 
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With 1/4" slop, my guess is you're about to fail where the ferrule swages onto the cable. Check it out.

I have always thought the throttle should be spring loaded to the open position.
Click to expand...
Thirty forty years ago they were. Marvel removed them. I don't know why. Maybe throttle shaft wear?
 
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