Rudder Cables

[ten4teg]

I'm confused about the way the rudder cables work. On other aircraft, if you push one rudder it pulls the other forward, or there are self centering springs to keep the rudder centered. On the RV8 there seems to be a lot of slack in the cables and no self centering springs. Am I missing something here?

Thanks,
Tom

 

[n5lp]

...On the RV8 there seems to be a lot of slack in the cables and no self centering springs. Am I missing something here?

Thanks,
Tom

With your feet on the pedals everything is great.

 

[N908RV]

To expand on Larry's comment, and he is correct, they work just great. You won't notice it at all.

One reason many designs have springs is that some designs would allow the pedals to fold or flop aft with no springs and if you had your feet off of them it would cause a safety issue.

Not so with the -8, the design and geometry is such that they can't really flop back like that. They are basically anchored at the forward end on the firewall and a short piece of cable goes through an "S" tube on the side of each pedals bellcrank assembly - I am using the word bellcrank liberally here for lack of a better description - and connects to the main rudder cable on each side and then goes aft to the rudder horn.

 

[jsharkey]

I'm confused about the way the rudder cables work. On other aircraft, if you push one rudder it pulls the other forward, or there are self centering springs to keep the rudder centered. On the RV8 there seems to be a lot of slack in the cables and no self centering springs. Am I missing something here?

Thanks,
Tom

When you push on the left pedal the cable pulls the horn on the left side of the rudder forward. The horn on the right side therefore pivots aft and pulls the right cable and pedal rearwards with it - and vice versa. You need the rudder fitted, the cables connected and the pilot's feet on both pedals for it to work. It's beautifully simple and elegant - like many things on an RV.

Jim Sharkey
RV6 - still plugging!