On 01/02/2010 03:38 PM, William Daniell wrote:
> I have tried full deflection and with the cross tube 3/8 to the right
> which puts both hinge brackets on the hard points and there appears to
> be a lot of of the flap root pin still to go on the left.
>
> The manual is not specific about max clearance at fully retracted
> between cross tube and flap root...it just says "small clearance". Is
> small 1/16 1/8 or 1/4?
Have you noticed the SB about this subject? A Europa here in the
Netherlands nearly crashed when, due to a rough touch-down during a
touch-and-go, the pin slipped out of the cross tube, and upon flap
retraction, the flap was pushed outwards against the aileron, resulting
in a lock-up of the aileron. (And because the pilot had no clue what was
causing the sudden lock-up, he opted for landing with a locked-up aileron).
For this reason I have zero clearance between the cross tube and flap
root, as I can't see the benefit of *any* clearance here. The flaps
allow some sideways motion by the design of their hinges anyway, so any
stress will find an unharmfull way out. The more pin you get into the
cross tube, the less likely the chance that with full flaps down a
sideways jerk to the flaps will get the pin out of the cross tube.
About your question: You have not mentioned why your cross tube won't
fit onto the hard points properly. Are the hard points imbedded at the
wrong locations? Is the cross tube itself manufactured incorrectly, or
is one of your flaps just a tad too short?
I would rather fix any of these anomalies, than to install the cross
tube off the hard points or have more than neglectable clearance between
the flap root and the cross tube.
Happy new year to everyone!
Frans
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