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My 2nd rudder gust damaged

tc1234c

tc1234c

Well Known Member
My 2nd rudder gust lock damaged

I use a U shaped steel rod to lock rudder to the rudder stop. My original gust lock was made of 1/8" rod and after it was twisted by strong wind gust I changed it to 3/16". Last Sunday when I came back from an oversea trip I found my new gust lock twisted again. I am not sure it was due to the thunderstorm or helicopter prop wash. My airplane was parked at Linden Airport that is a base for many NYC helicopters. I guess it is time to find a better solution.
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By the way, last weekend it was the base for Red Bull Air Race.
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***My thread title should be ".. gust lock damaged". Fortunately my rudder is fine.
 
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I use a PVC pipe setup that goes between the rudder pedals and a location under the seat front area (RV-6A).
 
Just a thought ----

Can you make another lock for the opposite side???

Your link appears to be failing in compression mode, having a second one that is in tension may make all the difference you need
 
Ted let us know what solution it will be. Two times is too much...

Thread creep: How come you slipped in and out our airspace unnoticed? :D
I went to see the show from a sail boat.

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gust lock bending

Ted,
I have had the same experience with this rig.
I plan to try a piece of angle, with 2 bolts thru the holes....but I do wonder if this is just transferring all this load somewhere even less desirable?
Obviously the rudder has a whole lotta push, I forget my engineering, but a 50 mph wind exerts something like 30 lbs per square foot?..acting on the centre of the rudder, that's potentially several hundred pounds.
Maybe the gustlock should have a energy absorbing element, which is hard to build into this litte link.
I like the idea of locking the rudder pedals, maybe that's the place to install a bungee?...would keep the cables from snapping around too.
 
Here's an alternative locking method - see red band around fin & rudder.
Gustlock available from http://www.brucescovers.com/
Somewhat heavier than your 3/16 rod but then maybe that's exactly what you need.
Provides a much larger bearing surface area. Just a thought.

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Thanks for all the ideas. PVC pipe solution is in my mind.
Locking on both side requires the U be bent precisely.
I tried the aluminum angle idea. It is too much trouble to put on and too rigid. Twisted lock absorbed energy and prevented rudder getting damaged.
Red band around fin & rudder works for tail dragger yet it is hard to put on a tricycle gear RV (needs to carry a ladder to get up there). I do have something similar but decided against carrying a ladder.
I might as well buy the one from Avery Tools.

Vlad, I envy you. Can not think of any better way to watch the race on a sailboat.
 
AirGizmos Gust Locks

Does anyone have any experience with the gust locks offered by AirGizmos?

They look interesting, but I don't know if there is enough bearing surface to keep the rudder in position -- I kind of doubt it, and, if not, they may actually put a crimp in the skin.

BTW, I called Bruce's Custom Covers. They no longer routinely build and advertise rudder gust locks due to complaints of the unit not being stiff enough for really strong gusts. However, they will build you one if you want to try it.
 
"U" lock on both sides

I originally had the one side 1/8" "U" wire and saw the compression failure as mentioned earlier. Duplicating the 1/8" "U" lock on both sides solved the problem simply and cleanly - as mentioned earlier. No more problems in 6 years. Just make sure you pull them before takeoff or you will not be able to move the rudder from the cockpit - it is that solid.

Bob Axsom
 
Mike S said:
Can you make another lock for the opposite side???

Your link appears to be failing in compression mode, having a second one that is in tension may make all the difference you need
Click to expand...

I had a similar problem , and solved it by placing a mirror copy on the other side. Bending the U channel really isn't that hard, and once both are installed, they are rock solid. Previous to this I had installed a telescoping brace that supposedly locked the rudder pedals. that was a waste of time.
 
FWIW, I have a rocket link connecting my tailwheel to my rudder. With the tailwheel steering arm in the detent, it locks the rudder in place quite well. At least, I haven't been in a situation yet where the rudder has unlocked due to wind gusts around the plane while parked.
 
I am using a steel hinge pin on both side and it has held in pretty good wind with no movement. If I put only one side then the back and forth movement of the rudder pulls the pin a bit up and could see it easily bending. I think you will have a much better luck if put the U shape pin on both side.
 
I've got a similar gust lock and noticed how weak it seems, even though it is 1/8" music wire. Engaging my brain, I realized the problem is the long vertical moment to the bends is allowing the rudder to exert more leverage than desired. So, I am wavering between two fixes: bending a new gust lock that lies flush on top of the rudder horn and stop (minimum vertical bending moment) or adding a spacer of bar stock to the existing lock so that the force from the rudder cannot compress or spread the "U". I'm leaning toward the latter because it's easier to fabricate the bar stock spacer than bend and cut music wire. In any case, I can't really test it until I get the plane back in flying condition but I'll report on my results, with pictures, when I do.
 
Not AirGizmos Gust Locks for rudder

If you have a nose wheel, the rudder will be out of reach to put these things in. They are nice for elevator and ailerons.
 
Rudder lock

The 3/16" wire clip on the control horn is an elegant solution, but apparently not up to the loads imposed by high winds.

I made some gust locks for my C-150 (RV-9A still being built) which might work better as long as there is a mass balance horn on the control surface which there are on RV-9As. The locks were made out of two .090 aluminum plates about 4" diameter with some 1/2" closed cell foam (from a backpack mattress) glued on the inside face. An 1/8" rod threaded on each end, with a piece of heat shrink in the middle to protect the control surfaces, connects the two plates together with a wingnut (or an over center clamp) for adjustment. The rod is slipped into the gap between the end of the mass balance horn and the fin (or horizontal stabilizer in the case of the elevators) and the wingnut tightened.

I believe this is better than locking the rudder pedals together as the rudder cables are not constantly being loaded by the wind gusts.

Sorry no pix.
 
Air Gizmo Rudder Gust locks

I purchased one of these Air Gizmo Rudder Gust locks at Oshkosh 2009, thought I would replace my home made one, ended up denting my RV-6 rudder at Oshkosh. The pressure exerted by closing the web type clamp dented the rudder. I had applied it with just enough force to prevent it from being loose, but due to the plastic clamp being straight and the rudder being angled, it just didn't work.

Very upsetting, I went back to the clamp I made from foam, scrap wood and a long bolt with wing nut. This one wears off the paint on the top of the rudder edge and also caused another dent when ramp people moved my plane without removing the rudder gust lock. I also have the Rocket steering link which I think locks the rudder pretty well if it is left straight, it just moves back and forth a bit against the internal springs in wind gusts, which may actually be good, not sure. But I definitely wouldn't buy the Air Gizmo one for a tapered aluminum control surface again.
 
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I have experience with both the airgizmos and the Gust off Lock. On the RV10 the Gust off compressed due to strong winds while in Vegas and it puts a lot of load on the bolt that supports the brake. I spun the bolt to make sure it was still straight and it was. I can't imaging how much force was on the brake bolt to allow it to compress. Fortunately the wind stayed in the same direction and the rudder stayed put. It was one heck of a wind in May, close to 50kts peak gusts and tail in. No help there. You locals said it got windy down there:eek: I had One airgizmos on the elevator and it to blew off. Fortunatley the elevator stayed down. All the planes were really twisted in the chain tie downs. I have small ones that hold the ailerons that I made, I now put one airgizmo per elevator side and then I pull the tail down and put one on the rudder if there is any chance of high winds. I just use the gust off for short stays. No dents from the airgizmos and this set up has worked so far, the 10 elevator is real big and one argizmo is just not enough if the winds really get howling. Pulling the tail down is a pain but it helps me sleep while the plane is outside on trips. My plane loves its hanger:)
 
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Ted
I had a similar thing happen to me and how I fixed it was rather simple. I made another "U" shaped Stainless Steel Rod from 3/16 diameter material. Then I threaded the ends 10/32 for 1"long. I made a spacer bar from UHMW material 1/4 thick X 1" wide X 4" long. I drilled two 3/16 diam. holes in the UHMW with the same center distance as the "U" shaped part is wide. I also welded two washers on the U rod and spaced the washers 3/4" from each other so the rod will sit flat on top of the rudder horn and stop. There is approx. 3/4" diff. between the horn and the stop in height. You just put the NEW rudder lock on the same way but add the UHMW spacer UNDERNEATH and two wing nuts screwed on from underneath and the rudder lock now cannot spread inwards and outwards. My rudder has had 55 mph winds push on it and it stays put. Hope this helps.

Peter
 
I used a piece of 1/8" x 3/4 angle

Next time I'm at my hangar I'll take a photo of mine. A short piece of angle with a couple of #10 screws, a spacer JB welded in place and a single wingnut. Takes only a few seconds to put in place and takes up very little room and weight in my "tie-down" bag. It'll be my first attempt at loading a photo so bear with me.
 
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