All hinges are not created equal...

[Bret S]

I discovered that the two piano hinges supplied with my wing kit to mount my flaps are not interchangeable. After a minor trailing edge alignment problem I decided to replace the wing attached side with half of the other hinge.

Over the 6' length the teeth spacing drifts slowly off linearly increasing with length until the last tooth is a whopping 1/16" off (not including the play in the gap between the teeth). The teeth of each hinge half simply will not mesh.

1. The hinges are the same temperature.
2. The hinges have no kinks, bends etc.
3. The original mated sides have no problems meshing.

I thought I'd drop this issue by the forum. The last advice I got from support was so bad it left my jaw on the shop floor

This is not the first problem with hardware I got from Van's. I got some Phillips head replacement screws for my fuel tank since after a few trial fits I wanted to put fresh ones in last. Half of these screws were useless due to manufacturing variations in plating thickness (I presume). I tried 3 different Phillips bits of the same size from different manufacturers to drive them in, but only 1/2 allowed the bit to bottom out in the + hole and snuggly engage the side walls. I discovered this after stripping a few out requiring a bolt extractor to remove them.

Anyone else having problems with hinges and screw hardware. I complained to Van's about the screws and identified the manufactures markings, but they disclaimed anyone has had any issues.

 

[Noah]

Ask for a replacement?

MS20257 and MS20001 cover continuous hinge (among others). Compare the hardware with the spec and if it falls outside of the tolerances, tell Vans to send you a new one. Email or PM me if you want me to send you a copy of the spec.

 

[szicree]

Over the 6' length the teeth spacing drifts slowly off linearly increasing with length until the last tooth is a whopping 1/16" off (not including the play in the gap between the teeth). The teeth of each hinge half simply will not mesh.

Wow, that's one I've never even considered. Has either hinge been dimpled or riveted? This could cause a distortion in length, I suppose.

 

[Bret S]

Wow, that's one I've never even considered. Has either hinge been dimpled or riveted? This could cause a distortion in length, I suppose.

No.

The riveted hinge on the flap mates perfectly with its original mate that has only been drilled and cleco'd to the wing.

I sent pics to Van's and we'll see what they say.

 

[Bret S]

All worked out well, Murphy took pity on me

So I got a new hinge from ACS and it fits the one I mounted on the flap perfectly. If I'd mounted the other dimensionally challenged hinge I'd have to drill out all those front spar rivets on the flap and I wasn't looking forward to that