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Rudders Pedals Sticking, would this help?

GAHco

GAHco

Well Known Member
I have read several threads stating that the rudder pedals on some planes have had an issue with sticking and that could affect the brakes.:eek:

From what I understand going to one longer bolt instead of two short ones.

I have already had some RV folks call me and buy the AN3-60A's because that is what I had in stock, but what they really wanted was the AN3-56's.

I wanted to get an idea of how many would be interested, it would take one bolt for each pedal.

Most of you already have the AN310 castle nuts and the AN960-10/NAS1149F0363P washers.

The ears on the Rudder Bars are 5.25" apart on the outsides, the bolt has a 5.375 grip, so after you ad a washer under the head and the nut it comes out just right.

You would not want to tighten it up enough to prevent rotation, as it will serve as a pivot.

I will be ordering these in some qty soon and would like to get an idea of how many of you would get some to make this upgrade.

The price on the store are valid now, BUT if I get enough positive replies to this thread, I WILL be posting a Promotional price and a code to get that price.

kinda like a group buy, but without all the groupiness.

NOT A FORMAL POLL, JUST "POST REPLY" :cool:

and give me an idea if this interests you, and if so how many.
 
Can you post a photo showing how this would work? I'm not 100% clear what you mean.

Thanks.
 
Count Me In

I've got steel rod's in there now, flattened on one end and drilled with a cotter pin and washer on the other.

I'd prefer bolts :), I need 4.

George
 
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Noah said:
Can you post a photo showing how this would work? I'm not 100% clear what you mean.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Noah, the rudder pedal assembly is a welded tube affair with a "U" shaped tube hanging below the main shaft------at least most of them hang--------and the brake pedals mount to the rudder weldment with two bolts that form the pivot points for the brake pedal to rotate on. Sometimes the holes in the tabs welded on the rudder tube unit, and the holes in the brake pedal, are not on a common axis, and this causes the brake pedal to bind. One cure is to drill the holes out with a long enough drill (6") to cure any misalignment, and then to make it even better, use a single bolt that will pass through the entire assembly.

By the way, count me in for four---------anyone know if the bolt length is common for all models???
 
It's a lousy picture, but here's how it works..pretty simple.

P9300152.JPG
 
Dadgummit, Jim, sure wish you had been quicker with that photo, would have saved me from a cramp in my typing finger.

Seriously, for Noah, this should clear up any confusion you had, I am glad Jim had a photo.
 
Count us in!

I am sure we can do with a few sets up here in the northeast!

I want 4 for me, but I am sure we can combine shipping for some fellow builders in my area and I can distribute them personally.

Lemme know when the rubber meets the road!

I am in!

:) CJ
 
Good job guys.

We will be getting a promotion from what I see:):)

Keep posting your reqirements.

I will order what you want plus some extras.;)
 
GAHco said:
but what they really wanted was the AN3-56's.
Click to expand...

Just for clarification, you want the AN3-56A, where the A specifies the drilled shank. Why do I mention this? Because I JUST ORDERED 4 OF 'EM FROM AIRCRAFT SPRUCE ON MONDAY! FARGH!
I guess timing really is everything...:mad:
 
It's the other way around

Red Voodoo said:
Just for clarification, you want the AN3-56A, where the A specifies the drilled shank. Why do I mention this? Because I JUST ORDERED 4 OF 'EM FROM AIRCRAFT SPRUCE ON MONDAY! FARGH!
I guess timing really is everything...:mad:
Click to expand...


The "A" specifies un-drilled.

Mark
 
Just a quick note regarding the single long bolt solution to the brake axis. If you are installing these with the rudder pedal assembly out of the cockpit, make sure that the bolt heads are on the inside of the outside (one nearest the fuse wall) pedal. That sounds confusing, but the intent is to ensure that they can be removed after installation if you need to dismantle the assembly for whtever reason. If the bolt head was on the outside of the pedal nearest the fuse wall, it can't be removed. At least I couldn't get it in from that side when installing it in my completed -9A.

Allan
 
Awesome advice!

AllanC said:
Just a quick note regarding the single long bolt solution to the brake axis. If you are installing these with the rudder pedal assembly out of the cockpit, make sure that the bolt heads are on the inside of the outside (one nearest the fuse wall) pedal. That sounds confusing, but the intent is to ensure that they can be removed after installation if you need to dismantle the assembly for whtever reason. If the bolt head was on the outside of the pedal nearest the fuse wall, it can't be removed. At least I couldn't get it in from that side when installing it in my completed -9A.

Allan
Click to expand...

This is where the forum saves us all grief and time, I had not thought of that and when I would have put mine in I might have done it by accident!:eek:

Thanks Allen for making the cockpit floor a better place.:)

BTW I will be placing the bulk bolt order tommorow so please chime in, if you are not sure, I will be buying a 1/4 to a 3rd extra.

Thanks RV crew for the great response.:cool:
 
What are you guys talking about?

Okay, I read the posts, looked at the pictures, and I still can't tell what you guys are talking about!

Can someone spell this out for me please?


Hans
 
Hans, go re-read my post, #8, and look at the photos in post #9.

It is all about fixing a sticking brake pedal issue.

If your brakes are not sticking, maybe you dont need to worry about it.

If you are still building, this is cheap insurance to prevent one cause of dragging brakes, and short pad/rotor life.

Another fix is booster springs on the master cylinders--------more than likely needed due to mis-aligned pivot bolts.

Long bolts, and booster springs, although probably overkill, is how I am going. I consider the $50 or so, and the few ounces weight penalty to be cheep insurance for a quarter million $ airplane.

Sticking/dragging brakes can lead to fire, running off the runway, ground loop, lack of brakes when really needed, ETC.
 
The booster springs made a tremendous difference to my master cyclinders, brake feel and release. You also need adjustable collars to set the spring tension as well. The whole conversion when building takes little time (longer if a retrofit) but is really worthwhile.

Maybe Tom could make up a conversion package with the bolts, springs and adjustable collars?

Allan
 
The real solution

AllanC said:
The booster springs made a tremendous difference to my master cyclinders, brake feel and release. You also need adjustable collars to set the spring tension as well. The whole conversion when building takes little time (longer if a retrofit) but is really worthwhile.

Maybe Tom could make up a conversion package with the bolts, springs and adjustable collars?

Allan
Click to expand...

Allan is pointing builders in the right direction.

In reality there is no credible evidence to suggest that the long bolt technique actually prevents inadvertent and irreversible activation of the brakes. Sure, it's a cheap and fast solution...but it probably won't make any real difference.

In the end the Vans supplied Matco hydraulic actuators are really struggling to come back to their fully open position....short bolt....or long bolt.

However, the booster spring with adjustable collar solves the problem completely.

I am posting a picture of my installation (standard bolts) with booster springs. There is NO WAY that my system will not come back to zero brake pressure. And I can easily adjust the spring tension to determine the amount of force I need to activate the brake pedals. No chance of riding the brakes with this set-up.



You can click on the image for a larger, higher rez photo.
 
Thanks for the GREAT response guys!

I will be doing some webstore maint on Sunday, when I am done I will post the details of the Bolt promotion on this site.

I was only able to come up with 100+ a few for now and will try to get more.

So to be fair for this promotion I will be allocating to by the order that people have reserved on this post.

We will then fill the backorders asap and notify by post on this forum the expected lead times for those.
 
Nice idea.

AllanC said:
The booster springs made a tremendous difference to my master cyclinders, brake feel and release. You also need adjustable collars to set the spring tension as well. The whole conversion when building takes little time (longer if a retrofit) but is really worthwhile.

Maybe Tom could make up a conversion package with the bolts, springs and adjustable collars?

Allan
Click to expand...

Good Idea, but..

Sorry at this time we are unable to add this as a kit item.

We are uprading our Software and installing some new packaging equipment also.

Yup, we will be "Busier than a Bug in a puddle of spit"

Have the good weekend!
 
PROMOTION DETAILS

To get your promotional price for the AN3-56 bolts for your Rudder Pedal Pivots you will need to put in the promotional code PEDALS in the area just below "Current Items in your basket" after you have selected your items and placed them in the basket.

The promotion is that you will receive the 25 piece price , regardless of how many you order/

As and added bonus, put a "PB REF BOOK" in the cart, and that will be a free item for you (normally $6.00) when ordered with the AN3-56 bolts.

If you have do not already have one of our Hardware Reference Books it will be a great addition to your tech library.

http://www.gen-aircraft-hardware.com/site_tips.asp

to see ALL that we really have to offer.

I hope that this and the bolts will all be very helpful for you.

Thanks,
 
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