Greg Arehart
Well Known Member
OK, so it has been a few months since getting the airplane in the air, and I needed something to do with the scrap material in my shop so... I put together a simple gust lock for my elevator that is easy to make and easy to carry, plus works great. Below are some images. Basically, it consists of a piece of 063 x 1-1/4 Al with a few pieces of 063 angle or bent 063 material riveted or screwed to the strap.
Here is a photo of the original material before riveting - several pieces of either bent 063 or angle plus a couple pieces of leftover piano hinge (I used a single piece of Al pin bent around through both hinges):
And here it is in place on my R elevator/HS. It slides into the gap between the elevator and HS:
I dipped the stuff in that plastic dip to prevent damage to the paint job (eventually I will get this airplane painted!). Here's the bottom of the bracket, custom bent to fit my installation (note that the angles are not quite 90 degrees):
And here is the top of the bracket. The thumbscrews are tapped into some 1/8-inch angle and tighten down against a couple of pieces of leftover hinge material. The straight piece (R side of photo) slips between the elevator and HS to keep the whole thing from vibrating off.
![](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimg18.imageshack.us%2Fimg18%2F7056%2Fp1060007.th.jpg&hash=fde582f773073fac27d0a22cefaf06e8)
When this thing is tightened down, it really holds the elevator in place well. I'm sure there could be some additional modifications/simplifications made, but I'm happy with the result so far.
greg
Here is a photo of the original material before riveting - several pieces of either bent 063 or angle plus a couple pieces of leftover piano hinge (I used a single piece of Al pin bent around through both hinges):
![](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimg13.imageshack.us%2Fimg13%2F9071%2Fp1060002n.th.jpg&hash=1b8f3be04e7c5e4a0e00c361938b39c8)
And here it is in place on my R elevator/HS. It slides into the gap between the elevator and HS:
![](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimg10.imageshack.us%2Fimg10%2F9132%2Fp1060004.th.jpg&hash=3417721fa875a6c51af38bdd01d32fe7)
I dipped the stuff in that plastic dip to prevent damage to the paint job (eventually I will get this airplane painted!). Here's the bottom of the bracket, custom bent to fit my installation (note that the angles are not quite 90 degrees):
![](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimg9.imageshack.us%2Fimg9%2F2361%2Fp1060006.th.jpg&hash=e22ae177e173e68c5163229f7e97da2e)
And here is the top of the bracket. The thumbscrews are tapped into some 1/8-inch angle and tighten down against a couple of pieces of leftover hinge material. The straight piece (R side of photo) slips between the elevator and HS to keep the whole thing from vibrating off.
![](/community/proxy.php?image=http%3A%2F%2Fimg18.imageshack.us%2Fimg18%2F7056%2Fp1060007.th.jpg&hash=fde582f773073fac27d0a22cefaf06e8)
When this thing is tightened down, it really holds the elevator in place well. I'm sure there could be some additional modifications/simplifications made, but I'm happy with the result so far.
greg