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Rubbing Rudder
- Thread starter glenadavis
- Start date
Bob's suggestion would work. I think I would do it differently.
Review pages 7-03 and 11-02 in the KAI and verify a correct washer stack on the hinge pivot bolts. The KAI allows for the use of thin washers if necessary in order to get proper clearance between the brackets. The washer stack could effect the vertical positioning of the the rudder. Your rudder looks like it may be sitting a little high, but it could just be the photo. IMO this starts by investigating the rudder attachment for anything unusual. I am not suggesting that you use washers to adjust the height, just that you should make sure this was not stacked incorrectly such that the rudder is sitting too high.
It looks like there are two different wear marks. The more obvious portion at the top where it looks like a small chip, and a diagonal line further down that seems to correspond with the fairing angle which suggests it's also rubbing at it's limit of travel. Assuming there is not some other installation error on the hinges, this seems like nothing more than a poorly trimmed VS fairing. It seems more appropriate to trim the fairing than modify the hinge attachment configuration.
Either way you'll need to remove the rudder so take the advice about securing the cables. They are a pain to fish out if they fall inside. As for the trimmed fairing edge, you could probably find a sharpie with a close enough color and it's such a small edge that you'll never see it from the ground.
Review pages 7-03 and 11-02 in the KAI and verify a correct washer stack on the hinge pivot bolts. The KAI allows for the use of thin washers if necessary in order to get proper clearance between the brackets. The washer stack could effect the vertical positioning of the the rudder. Your rudder looks like it may be sitting a little high, but it could just be the photo. IMO this starts by investigating the rudder attachment for anything unusual. I am not suggesting that you use washers to adjust the height, just that you should make sure this was not stacked incorrectly such that the rudder is sitting too high.
It looks like there are two different wear marks. The more obvious portion at the top where it looks like a small chip, and a diagonal line further down that seems to correspond with the fairing angle which suggests it's also rubbing at it's limit of travel. Assuming there is not some other installation error on the hinges, this seems like nothing more than a poorly trimmed VS fairing. It seems more appropriate to trim the fairing than modify the hinge attachment configuration.
Either way you'll need to remove the rudder so take the advice about securing the cables. They are a pain to fish out if they fall inside. As for the trimmed fairing edge, you could probably find a sharpie with a close enough color and it's such a small edge that you'll never see it from the ground.
I agree that trimming the VS tip looks like a better solution here. I suggest looking carefully at the rudder though, to see why it's rubbing in the first place... It probably wasn't built that way? Maybe the rudder has been tweaked by backing it into something?
