Veetail88
Well Known Member
A friend of mine owns a beautiful RV-7 which he purchased already built.
The other day, he kind of botched a landing and came down pretty hard on the tailwheel. The stinger flexed and the tailwheel fork attach nut struck the bottom of his rudder. It hit hard enough to dislodge his tail strobe/position light, although I think the integrity of that particular attachment was a bit questionable. I shot up to take a look at it for him yesterday.
Other than a bit of a mashing of the paint where the tailwheel yolk attach bolt struck, there appears to be no damage anywhere.
All hinges/rod end bearings for the rudder are perfect, show no signs of cracking or bending, no loose or popped rivets, jam nuts are tight, everything seems fine.
Inspection of the stinger attach fittings seems to be damage free. No loose or broken rivets, no wrinkles in the skin, nothing.
While all seems fine, the bottom of the bottom rudder fiberglass part rubs against the stinger with the airplane in the normal stance. (weight on the tailwheel) It is unnoticeable while operating the rudder normally, but the stinger is actually against the fiberglass. Cant slide a piece of paper between!
I'm a bit flummoxed. As he is not the builder, and as neither one of us actually ever looked at that fit prior, we have no idea if it was like this before. While the length of the stinger does not appear to be bent, it seems very unlikely that even if it did bend, that the bend would happen right at the rear attach fitting. I recall some recent discussion regarding this clearance but am unable to find the thread. Has anyone seen this?
Thanks,
Jesse
The other day, he kind of botched a landing and came down pretty hard on the tailwheel. The stinger flexed and the tailwheel fork attach nut struck the bottom of his rudder. It hit hard enough to dislodge his tail strobe/position light, although I think the integrity of that particular attachment was a bit questionable. I shot up to take a look at it for him yesterday.
Other than a bit of a mashing of the paint where the tailwheel yolk attach bolt struck, there appears to be no damage anywhere.
All hinges/rod end bearings for the rudder are perfect, show no signs of cracking or bending, no loose or popped rivets, jam nuts are tight, everything seems fine.
Inspection of the stinger attach fittings seems to be damage free. No loose or broken rivets, no wrinkles in the skin, nothing.
While all seems fine, the bottom of the bottom rudder fiberglass part rubs against the stinger with the airplane in the normal stance. (weight on the tailwheel) It is unnoticeable while operating the rudder normally, but the stinger is actually against the fiberglass. Cant slide a piece of paper between!
I'm a bit flummoxed. As he is not the builder, and as neither one of us actually ever looked at that fit prior, we have no idea if it was like this before. While the length of the stinger does not appear to be bent, it seems very unlikely that even if it did bend, that the bend would happen right at the rear attach fitting. I recall some recent discussion regarding this clearance but am unable to find the thread. Has anyone seen this?
Thanks,
Jesse