What's new
Van's Air Force

Don't miss anything! Register now for full access to the definitive RV support community.

VA111 rod end not a tight fit

HeliCooper

Well Known Member
I'm fabricating the aileron actuation on page 23-03. The manual says to sand the VA-111 to a tight fit inside the pushrod. With only sanding the inside of the tube to debur the drilled holes the VA-111 is sitting inside the tube pretty sloppy. My concern is when I match drill the tube to the rod end the rod end could end up on an angle. Anyone with more experience have a suggestion here or am I worrying over nothing?

Thanks,

Jim
 
I'm fabricating the aileron actuation on page 23-03. The manual says to sand the VA-111 to a tight fit inside the pushrod. With only sanding the inside of the tube to debur the drilled holes the VA-111 is sitting inside the tube pretty sloppy. My concern is when I match drill the tube to the rod end the rod end could end up on an angle. Anyone with more experience have a suggestion here or am I worrying over nothing?

Thanks,

Jim

Since it is part of the control system you are not worrying over nothing, ever.
You're the builder, but if it were I, I would not accept a sloppy fit where the plans called for a tight fit. I would want any bending forces disributed along tbe tube, not concentrated at the fasteners or some other point.
 
Extruded aluminum tubing has a dimension tolerance that can vary slightly.
most of the time the VA-111 will just barely slid in. Sometimes it wont quite go and requires a small amount of material to be removed, Teh note is to keep builders from over doing it. Other times it is just a bit loose (only a few thousandths can seem like a very sloppy fit). No cause for concern.... the rivets are what produce the strength of the joint, not the dimensional fit in the tube.
 
Thanks Scott,

Do I need to worry about the VA-111 being slightly off center? Best way I can describe it is if you put a pencil in the tube the pencil could point slightly left or right of straight down the center of the tube. Will this be so minimal on the rod end that it won't cause any fitment or stress issues later on?
 
Back
Top