A&P finds rivets missing ...

[jrs14855]

Ailerons

In most cases a disconnected aileron will trail in the neutral position. Some of the Reno biplane racers have disconnected the upper ailerons on four aileron Pitts and removed the "slave strut" that connects the lower aileron to the upper to reduce drag. The upper ailerons appear to be held in neutral with tape.
Most any airplane will fly just fine with one aileron disconnected. How much adverse yaw is involved will depend on how much differential the aileron system has and how aggressive you are on the controls. It would be best to make all turns in the direction of the "good " aileron and make all control movements slow and smooth.
Kent Pietsch used to jettison one aileron from his Interstate Cadet during his comedy airshow routine. I haven't seen him fly for a few years.
The elevators on some airliners are not connected directly to the control system. The control system is connected to "control tabs" which move the control surface. On the DC9/MD80 series if the airplane is parked with a tailwind you may see one elevator full up and the other full down. They do have hydraulic dampners to keep the controls from banging against the stops. The DC9/MD80 also has hydraulic control for down elevator only, but this is not "full time" and really is just there for "deep stalls" with the T tail.

 

[chris mitchell]

Here's a fatal accident due to aileron control rod disconnection. The aircraft began to roll, was uncontrollable and the pilot ejected outside the seat parameters.

I'm totally startled that anyone would get into a newly-built or post-inspection aircraft without doing a control load test.... When my -8 was about to go on its first flight both the inspector AND the test pilot checked the controls not only for full and free movement BUT ALSO that the stick and control surfaces were SECURELY attached to each other.

In the incident reported by the OP of this thread, somebody was watching and feeling very benign!

"Owner/operator: 4 FTS (74 (R) Sqn) RAF
Registration: XX164
C/n / msn: 312011
Fatalities: Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Other fatalities: 0
Airplane damage: Written off (damaged beyond repair)
Location: RAF stn Valley, Anglesey (HLY/EGOV) - United Kingdom
Phase: Take off
Nature: Military
Departure airport: RAF Valley (HLY/EGOV)
Destination airport:
Narrative:
Uncontrollable roll on takeoff. Aileron control rod disconnected during unrelated maintenance activity. Disconnection was not documented and the rod not reconnected."

Chris

 

[sblack]

In most cases a disconnected aileron will trail in the neutral position. Some of the Reno biplane racers have disconnected the upper ailerons on four aileron Pitts and removed the "slave strut" that connects the lower aileron to the upper to reduce drag. The upper ailerons appear to be held in neutral with tape.
Most any airplane will fly just fine with one aileron disconnected..

Really? Would you care to demonstrate?

 

[jrs14855]

Aileron

Many years ago I had an aileron linkage failure on a high performance EAB. Aileron stayed in neutral and control was not a problem. The only doubts I have are with the airfoils that have a convex curve in the aft lower section.

 

[SteinAir]

Really? Would you care to demonstrate?

As others have mentioned, Kent Pietsch has one aileron disconnected during the early part of his routine, then jettison's it and completes the routing with a single aileron. Some good video of it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOL0NOoa3_s

Also noted in particular the old beloved DC9 series had a physical Aileron Disconnect Lever which would disconnect the Aileron Interconnect Circuit, leaving them independent of each other...and lastly the pilot didn't even control the aileron itself at all..just a servo tab (the little aileron moved the big aileron)!

There also have been a number of small GA planes ferried around with only one aileron connected and the other "temporarily held in place" - but I doubt many of the old timers (here or elsewhere) are going to jump right up and admit it.

Not saying I'd like to go try it in an RV though - just that it's been done either intentionally or by mistake many times in many different aircraft.

Cheers,
Stein

PS....this OP's issue is an especially scary thing to see. Some decades ago we had a fatal RV4 crash at our little private airport/grass strip - the elevator pushrod tube had pulled apart under similar circumstances....pretty bad deal all the way around.

 

[paul mosher]

"Also noted in particular the old beloved DC9 series had a physical Aileron Disconnect Lever which would disconnect the Aileron Interconnect Circuit, leaving them independent of each other...and lastly the pilot didn't even control the aileron itself at all..just a servo tab (the little aileron moved the big aileron)!"

Aileron disconnect not unusual in large aircraft, I would also suggest that controlling the servo tab is controlling the control surface. If you want to get particular, the new Airbus and Boeings are not connected to flight controls at all, only to a computer.

 

[rmartingt]

So here's a thought to enhance our collective awareness: Any value to a thread that contains oft-overlooked inspection items, hot buttons, "stuff I've found", or "stuff I do that ya don't see on CI Checklists", with input from A&Ps, DARs, Tech Counselors, and RV Building Gurus/Repeat Offenders?

I'd love a list like that. Perhaps a spreadsheet sorted by section and/or system, with a description and possibly photographs?

 

[az_gila]

Sections

I'd love a list like that. Perhaps a spreadsheet sorted by section and/or system, with a description and possibly photographs?

That's a great idea, and the "sorted by section" bit has already been defined for us.

http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&r=PART&n=14y1.0.1.3.21#ap14.1.43_117.d

Just use the required Part 43, Appendix D for Section headings, and add the RV-specific items to look for as sub-items in each section.

As an example

(5) Flight and engine controls—for improper installation and improper operation.

*
* Check all flight control pushrods, rod end bearings and their lock nuts for security.
* Check all flight control pushrod ends are riveted in place
*