Hi! Steve.
I don't profess to be an authority but my balance weight stops just less
than 1" from the tail plane push tube.(I too had to throw away the silly
original stop then put in a much smaller diameter one lower down!)
Then on the up stroke the weight now stops about 3/8" before the top of the
fuselage where it hits a bed of silicone sealant.(I can't actually see it
but can feel the dimension with my fingers.)All this was achieved after the
factory decided on final inspection that I needed 13 degrees (one degree
more than in the manual) which meant a trip down the inside of the tail to
"wear" out,with it falling in my eyes, about 3/4" of nicely shaped 3/4"
thick plywood put there as a stop. At that end of the movemnet one degree
on the tail plane converted to about 3/4" of balance weight movement.!
I guess I can claim to have the "tee" shirt as well on this one.
However Graham Singleton has published an interesting method of installing
the 'H' balance weight guides prior to fitting the fuselage top. Have you
seen it? May save you some hassle if it's not too late!
Regards
Bob H G-PTAG
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-europa@post.aviators.net
Subject: Tailplane mass balance stops
I'm up to another case of looking for someone who has been in a similar
"been there done that" situation. I am in the process of putting in the
bulkhead and stops for the tail plane mass balance. During the first
iteration, (setup as described in the manual), things did not pan out as
expected (typical). The end result was that the aircraft nose down travel
(balance up) exceeded limits of bulkheads.
The second iteration involved getting rid of the big fat wooden dowel and
rubber hose stop (1.5" dia) and replacing them with a UHMW type material
stop around the cross bolt with a dia of .5" to get the mass weight down
lower to start with. At this point the weight stops about 1.2" above the
tailplane push tube in its lowered position. The end result was that it
looked close, though the next step was to get technical and actually lay the
top of the aircraft on the whole mess before continuing.
With the top on, the weight smacks the top of the fuselage being a little
over a degree short of the minimum amount required of nose down travel.
Granted only 5 degrees is called for but I am short over 20%. I see my
direction now as doing some creative machining of the steel weights when it
comes time for metal removal and balancing to get clearances. Or to do some
beefing up of the lower stop to allow the weight to get even closer to the
tube at its bottom travel.
Any "out of the box" insights would be much appreciated.
Steve Hagar
A143
Mesa, AZ
--- Steve Hagar
--- hagargs@earthlink.net
Europa List is supported by Aviators Network UK - info@avnet.co.uk
|