Jared_Solomon
Well Known Member
Hi All,
Looking for some thoughts from the VAF brain trust. I have put my 14A through it's paces and have about 230 hrs on it now . I'm puzzled by a "problem" I keep experiencing in flight. It appears that when the trim tab is in the neutral position, or close to neutral, the control stick "pulses" back and forth at about 1-2hz. I've spoken to Van's about it in the past and they believe the elevator is "hunting" when the elevator and the trim tab align just right. There is advice is to "trim it out", which does work, just seems like a bit of a cop out. For the past year I have been testing various theories as to why this might be happening, some theories related to the trim tab and others not. Below is a summary of what I've tried so far
Couple of questions:
Thanks,
Looking for some thoughts from the VAF brain trust. I have put my 14A through it's paces and have about 230 hrs on it now . I'm puzzled by a "problem" I keep experiencing in flight. It appears that when the trim tab is in the neutral position, or close to neutral, the control stick "pulses" back and forth at about 1-2hz. I've spoken to Van's about it in the past and they believe the elevator is "hunting" when the elevator and the trim tab align just right. There is advice is to "trim it out", which does work, just seems like a bit of a cop out. For the past year I have been testing various theories as to why this might be happening, some theories related to the trim tab and others not. Below is a summary of what I've tried so far
- Checked all linkages (no slop found)
- Removed all slop from the trim tab (machined bushings)
- Taped on reinforcement plates anywhere I found oil canning (removing oil canning areas from the elevators has no effect)
- Elevators balanced (no effect)
- Applied speed tape to the outboard lightening holes in the HS
Couple of questions:
- Other RV-14 drivers, have your experienced anything similar?
- If it is the trim tab / elevator alignment, any suggestions on how to fix it?
Thanks,