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Trial fitting the HS 1213 hinge brackets to the F1211 bearings and they are to tight

JwWright57

Well Known Member
Hi all, I'm at the point where I'm trial fitting the HS 1213 hinge brackets to the F1211 bearings and they are to tight. They fit when there are no washers included but too tight when there are washers installed. I'm at a loss about what to do about it.....

The brackets are square and the stops are not undersized. Everything seems good according to the plans but the fit is just a smidge to tight. I'm guessing that installing the stabilator after the emp cone is done would be a real pain if this fit is not "slide right in" tight.

Some pictures....
https://photos.app.goo.gl/SuIs8b6LlYjhSunf1
 
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Close tolerance fit

It is a snug fit, by design. You don’t want your HS flopping about. ;)

About the only advice I can offer is to use 416L washers, and if that’s still too snug, then remove the paint you have where the washers would sit as even a few thousands can make a difference.

Where the instructions say to glue the washers, you can use a little epoxy around the edge of the washer (don’t use too much it as you might want change these someday, and let it fully cure before attempting install) rather than on the face to minimize washer thickness.
 
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Stabilator tightness

You are correct in the fact that putting the stabilator on after the tail cone is finished is a major pain. It takes three people to do it and several times in your attempt.

I found that if you try to superglue the thin washers to the stabilator bracket it will not work. Sliding the stabilator onto the bearing would always seem to knock a washer off, so back to gluing again. And it was always only one washer.

That one elusive washer or two were glued to the bearing itself with just a little glue. And to the bracket. Finally we got everything on. The gap is way too tight for using a washer holder tool. It will go on.

Allan
RV 12 just starting testing
 
Make sure the HS 1210 hinge stops meet spec. They could be undersized and pulling the HS 1213 parts together.


For the washers I highly recommend a inexpensive tool that will make dealing with washers much easier.
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I've had mine on and off several times - each time by myself with help of some tables, cardboard stock (to keep from scratching the tailcone and boxes to adjust height.
 
I love my washer wrenches; I have the Avery set - now sold by Cleaveland Tools - it?s a great purchase. The problem is that on the HS, it?s a real pain to do unless you have other folks to help hold ends of the HS. Also, it?s pretty cramped to reach straight in for the outboard washers. By gluing them in place, it?s a much easier installation and really not much effort. And with them glued in place, I?ve installed the HS by myself.

While bearing grease is great for holding washers in place while stacking parts, it won?t hold very well with a tight fit that will place shear forces on the washer. I prefer to glue the things in place solidly. In reality, these washers are spacers for this application with no relative motion to the bearing faces that they are tightened against, and will likely outlast the airframe.

It?s a pretty simple task to just put some washers on a bolt for alignment in place, then use a toothpick to put a little glue - choose your favorite (epoxy, super spray, super glue, whatever) and just dab it around the edges of the washer being careful not to get it on the washer face or contacting the bolt.

Then when the glue is set, you can just pull the bolt out and your washers are ready for install.
 
The tips already provided by others regarding using either table top or two saw horses to support the stab at close to the correct height and then adjust as needed are valuable.
If a table is being used, you can use a stack of the aviation magazines that you probably have sitting around as spacers to adjust the height.

You can even use the nose wheel tire pressure for very fine adjustments in tail height.

I have removed/replace the stabilitor on numerous RV-12's numerous times entirely solo. It is not that big of a deal.

BTW, the reason washers are in that difficult to install them place is to provide opportunity for some dimensional adjustment because of tolerance variation, etc. If the normal washers don't work, they can be sanded down thinner of make some from material of a different thickness.
 
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I came to that point of installing the stabilator, and had tried the super glue method, which didn't hold. Came up with two loops of dental floss, the one at the top attached to a rubber band which was taped to the stabilator, pulling the washer up, and one at the bottom to pull down and position the washer where it was needed. After trying various other things, this worked well, about 45 minutes to get the whole thing done.
 
SuperGlue works fine if you rough up the surfaces with some Scotchbrite and clean them with rubbing alcohol or acetone before applying the glue.
 
When doing stab reinstalls (thanks to the recent stab SBs), I ended up just making a throwaway washer tool out of scrap thin plastic.
 
I did mine solo for the SB and used a table and the cleveland tool once you have it aligned its not a tough job
 
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