Aileron alignment

[gator05301]

Been struggling getting my ailerons and flaps aligned. Thought I had it until I found out my flaps weren’t aligned correctly with the fuselage. I then cut out a wing cord template, see attached picture, and it points to the aileron being a good inch higher than what the wing tip alignment board described in the Vans instructions says it should be. You can also see the difference in the picture. I think I can put a lot more faith in the template I cut out but the question is, why is that alignment board so far off. I’ve heard some people also align them to the wing tips, so I’ll be doing that as well for a triple check.

 

[FredMagare]

I aligned mine with the aileron bracket in place with a template on the outboard of the wing and then drilled the wing tip to that. It is close but I wish I had done it differently....

If I had it to do again, I would wait until the wings are installed, mount the flaps and ensure that they are EXACTLY where they need to be and measure identically retracted and deployed THEN I would align the ailerons to the flaps, and then the wingtips to the ailerons. It would be possible to clamp the ailerons to the flaps so that there is a straight line from flaps to wing tip.

EDIT: As others have mentioned, I also did mine from the alignment tool inboard...however, I found that with the flaps completely flush against the bottom of my fuselage that there is a slight misalignment with the ailerons. I had already drilled the wingtips and so decided to adjust the ailerons halfway between flaps and wingtips, but I think I could have done it right the first time working from fuselage outboard

 

[RV7 To Go]

As I recall the ailerons should be lined up with the tooling holes on the end rib and the flaps then aligned to the ailerons. That's the way I did it. Had to do a little trimming of the flap skins to clear the fuselage and align with the ailerons. I then clamped the ailerons in place and installed the wing tips. Worked out ok.

 

[rockyfatcat]

I have a known heavy wing condition. After verifying sweep and incidence of both wings and doing 15 measurements on each side of both flaps it became obvious that I have one flap hanging 1/4” lower than the other side.
Before you start chasing your tail, put one w-730 jig in each bell-crank and get out a 48” straightedge.
Make a map and know what you actually have before you start going in circles.

Each flap and aileron needs to be ‘in trail’ to the wing. Without knowing what your measurement map looks like you’ll be making arbitrary decisions

 

[PhatRV]

Like others have said, make sure your wing incidence is correct.
Then align the aileron to the tooling hole at the tip rib
The align the flap to the aileron.
You have zero reference to the widget that you created. It can be off and there is no way for you to know

 

[Carl Froehlich]

If I had it to do again, I would wait until the wings are installed, mount the flaps and ensure that they are EXACTLY where they need to be and measure identically retracted and deployed THEN I would align the ailerons to the flaps, and then the wingtips to the ailerons. It would be possible to clamp the ailerons to the flaps so that there is a straight line from flaps to wing tip.

This.

The aileron bracket should be considered is a starting point. Get the flaps right and work outboard. Use the bell crank jig to check for such things as bell crank to aileron push tube length. Fit the wingtips after the flaps and ailerons rigged.

Don’t overlook verifying the aileron height (as in hinges).

Carl

 

[gator05301]

Been struggling getting my ailerons and flaps aligned. Thought I had it until I found out my flaps weren’t aligned correctly with the fuselage. I then cut out a wing cord template, see attached picture, and it points to the aileron being a good inch higher than what the wing tip alignment board described in the Vans instructions says it should be. You can also see the difference in the picture. I think I can put a lot more faith in the template I cut out but the question is, why is that alignment board so far off. I’ve heard some people also align them to the wing tips, so I’ll be doing that as well for a triple check.

Update, I installed the wing tips and they lineup perfectly with the wing cord template. So lesson learned, I don’t know why but the alignment board they have you set up on drawing 12A just doesn’t work, or more than likely I’m doing something wrong but I can’t imagine what it is

 

[wirejock]

I made two long jigs with the center line to the tooling holes and bolted them in place. I fabricated blocks to lock the ailerons to the jigs so they were both aligned to the center of the jigs. The bellcrank jig was used to center and adjust the pushrods and control column. The wing tips were split and bonded so they were a straight line matching the ailerons. Straight edge confirmed they were aligned. All locked together with the boocks till it cured. The flaps were adjusted to match the ailerons and the flap skins just touch the fuse when fully retracted.
Let hope she flies straight. Fingers crossed.

 

[Mikeyb]

It’s not uncommon for the flaps to be lower than the fuselage on RV8’s when the wings are rigged as per the drawing. Some think it’s a design flaw. A lot of us had to bend the flaps up to meet the fuselage. You are in uncharted territory with that template and at first glance it looks wrong. The attached document is hidden in the Vans Q&A that address some of it. Don’t worry about the wing tip alignment. I can’t find the reference but they can be off substantially and not affect the flight characteristics.

Wing Incidence Drilling - Van's Aircraft Total Performance RV Kit Planes

DRILLING THE WING — SIMPLIFIED Don’t put in all of the wing attach bolts right away! You may have to remove each wing a couple of times in this process. Just put in four bolts in a square pattern for each wing. Don’t use the good bolts! Put in hardware store variety and grease them […] Read More

www.vansaircraft.com

 

[MIKE JG]

Great advice in this thread!

 

[71459]

I have a known heavy wing condition.

Each flap and aileron needs to be ‘in trail’ to the wing. Without knowing what your measurement map looks like you’ll be making arbitrary decisions

This is critical. Many airplanes have a built-in "heavy wing". What's actually happening is the ailerons aren't matching in trail with the wing. In flight, the air pressure will try to balance the mismatch and that will deflect the ailerons, causing the hands-off roll. Many people squeeze the trailing edge down in an attempt to correct this but it doesn't actually address the real cause, and can actually create new problems. So, take your time and get the ailerons perfectly in line and matching left/right. Drill the hinges off and shift them up or down if you have to.

 

[BobTurner]

Been struggling getting my ailerons and flaps aligned. Thought I had it until I found out my flaps weren’t aligned correctly with the fuselage. I then cut out a wing cord template, see attached picture, and it points to the aileron being a good inch higher than what the wing tip alignment board described in the Vans instructions says it should be. You can also see the difference in the picture. I think I can put a lot more faith in the template I cut out but the question is, why is that alignment board so far off. I’ve heard some people also align them to the wing tips, so I’ll be doing that as well for a triple check.

You did clamp the elevator neutral, right?

 

[Dugaru]

Don’t worry about the wing tip alignment. I can’t find the reference but they can be off substantially and not affect the flight characteristics.

Can confirm. My wing tips are visibly “off” but the only thing it bothers is my OCD. Plane flies great.