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Structural question

Fenderbean

Well Known Member
I was wondering about the forward vertical stab mount bracket. After seeing the design and the single aluminum bracket with a bolt, is it safe to assume the main rear spar is most of the strength?
 
I will follow Vans manual like always; thanks figured such a simple bracket couldn't be structural in the sense of main load.
Structural loads can be transferred through fixed, pinned, or sliding connections. This joint is intentionally designed as a pinned connection, allowing rotation about the bolt while transferring the required shear loads without developing significant bending moments. The flap piano hinge operates on the same principle, although it permits a much larger range of rotation about the hinge pin. If either joint were made rigid, normal control surface movement and structural deflection would generate high cyclic bending stresses. Over thousands of flight cycles, those stresses could initiate fatigue cracks and eventually lead to structural failure.
 
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