What's new
Van's Air Force

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

Extra rudder ears on rudder pedals WD-655-L/R?

wjb

wjb

Well Known Member
Hi Folks,

I was attaching the brake pedals to the WD-655-L/R weldments and found that all four pedals have ears attached for the rudder cable attachments. The outer two, far left and right, are keepers, however what to do with the inner two (near the tunnel) The plans don't have them shown, and it would seem that they have any purpose. It looks like Van's used the same basic rudder pedal for all 4 positions, and these are vestigial.

Anyone else find this? Did you leave 'em or grind 'em off?

Thanks!
 
Bill - Could you be looking at the tabs to mount the brake cylinders? The rudder cables attach to the wd-665 L/R, not the pedals. There should be one tab on the wd-665-L and one tab on the wd-665-R for the rudder cables.
 
Hi Bill,

My pedals were the same way. I ground off the extra inboard tabs, primed and painted with Rustoleum gloss white, which is a great match for the Van's powder coat. I'm guessing the pedal set is also used on a Van's aircraft where the rudder cables run in the center tunnel, so they're unnecessary in our planes.
 
Last edited:
I wander if they are the same part # as the RV-14, as we have tabs on both sides as well as best I can remember.
 
Here's a photo...

I should have posted this first off, but my camera was out of commission for a bit.

You can see the two tabs the bottom of the rudder pedals; the one on the right is correct (near the fuse wall), the one on the left is a freebee.

I'll give em a grind and paint. I found that there was quite a bit of variation in the spacing between the pedal mount points. This weldment wasn't jigged up all that well.

34j2a7l.jpg


Thanks for the replies!
 
Is that photo upside down or is that how the rudder pedals are installed in a RV-7? I'm quite sure the photo is upside down. ( yes I reread the post and it read the tabs are on the bottom)
On the RV-14 we use the center taps as we have a center tunnel the rudder cables pass thru.
 
Yea, the photo's upside down (as is the fuse on the saw horses). I rotated it, but the perspective looked strange, since I took the photo through the floor (not installed). So, I left it inverted.
 
Ron B. said:
I wander if they are the same part # as the RV-14, as we have tabs on both sides as well as best I can remember.
Click to expand...

Correct.

Just one of the hundreds of situations where part commonality is implemented to try and hold down the kit costs.
 
wjb said:
I found that there was quite a bit of variation in the spacing between the pedal mount points. This weldment wasn't jigged up all that well.
Click to expand...

Can you please give more detail regarding what mean by the above statement.
 
wjb said:
I should have posted this first off, but my camera was out of commission for a bit.

You can see the two tabs the bottom of the rudder pedals; the one on the right is correct (near the fuse wall), the one on the left is a freebee.

I'll give em a grind and paint. I found that there was quite a bit of variation in the spacing between the pedal mount points. This weldment wasn't jigged up all that well.

34j2a7l.jpg


Thanks for the replies!
Click to expand...

What's the orange thing-a-mabob on the right side of the pic?
 
rvbuilder2002 said:
Can you please give more detail regarding what mean by the above statement.
Click to expand...

By this I mean that the spacing between tabs that the brake pedals mount to on the weldment seem to vary quite a bit - maybe 1/8" ...I had to do some judicious bending and filing to get a consistent gap for the thin washers to fit in between the brake pedal and the tabs. A little tight, but not too out of family for Van's stuff.
 
wjb said:
I had to do some judicious bending and filing to get a consistent gap for the thin washers to fit in between the brake pedal and the tabs.
Click to expand...
I had to do the same. I would make one critique that you might want to think about changing. On your left pedal you have the castle nut on the side where you foot will be. I would turn that bolt around and put the head of the nut on the side where my foot is. The bolt head is lower profile and offers no chance of a shoe getting hung-up on a cotter pin or something like that. Your right pedal is already connected this way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top