George,
I take it that the TP5 sleeve (at the root end of the tailplane) slides
easily along the torque tube TP4 until the torque tube begins to enter TP6
(the sleeve with the pip pin hole).
As I see it, there is more than one scenario that could cause this.
1 The TP5 sleeve could be slightly out of alignment causing the torque
tube not to want to enter TP6. On forcing the alignment during rigging, TP5
would then bind on the torque tube and jam.
2 TP6 may be slightly out of alignment which would cause it to bind as
the torque tube enters it.
3 There may be a slight film of epoxy or similar on the inside of TP6
4 TP6 may have been shrunk. This can happen if grooves were ground
around its periphery to enable better bonding (the heat causes the sleeve to
shrink - Ask me how I know this !)
5 Any combination of the above.
If TP5 is tight all the way along TP4, either 3 or 4 above may apply ?? If
TP5 IS indeed tight all the way, will the tailplane fit on the wrong end
of TP4 torque tube ?
I think it is important to properly identify the problem before trying to
determine a fix.
Good luck
Kingsley in Oz.
> I purchased an XS kit in 2003 and never got my Accelerated Stage I kit,
> due to the collapse of EMIL. Later, I purchased the tailplanes already
> built from a charity that got them from someone's estate. The torque tube
> TP4 is extremely tight when I try to put the tailplanes on, and it is
> nearly impossible to get the TP4 to seat properly in the TP6 sleeve
> already bonded into the tailplanes (the TP12 pins will not seat into the
> TP13 bushes, due to the difficulty in getting the torque tube in). If I
> can't get the tailplanes on in my shop, I certainly won't be able to get
> them on the completed airplane.
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