1. Firstly thanks to Howard Brooks who gave me the idea of downloading a
clinometer from google play to my phone. I built a sort of stand so that
the phone can stand on its edge out of a piece of hardware aluminium angle.
Thus I could clip the phone to the trailing edge of the aileron. I
checked the download against my smart tool - it turned out to be as good as
my smart tool.
2. Next I fitted the flaps and ailerons lined them up and and marked
the neutral position on the wing tip to avoid having to take the wings on
and off with the flaps on.
- incidentally using my newly acquired clinometer I found that my
left flap as lower by 1 deg than the right flap. So i used Buds flap
trimming advice and epoxied 4 plies of lay up on the top of the
flap drive
hole. Now the flaps are identical.
3. Next I took everything apart checked the aileron throw with my new
phone clinometer. The left aileron was close to ok but i reset that to
22.5 up and set the wing QD to 90 deg to the bushes.
4. The right wing was waaay out. I sounded like the front edge of the
aileron was contacting the channel in which it sits not allowing it to go
full up. I checked this out by using a pencil scribble in the channel and
masking tape on the LE of the aileron. It was contacting the channel right
at the tip. At the same time the lower surface of the aileron was about
1/8 below the lower surface of the wing. So i taped a 3/16 washer as a
spacer between the hinge and the wing. The lower surface was level with
the wing and i got 24 deg up. I put 5 lay ups (over and above the
reinforcement plies as a spacer on the hinge contact point. I set the
left aileron to 22.5 up and made the QD 90deg to spar pins
5. I next went after the fuselage end. I had some aileron control tube
left over which I cut in half and inserted into the control columns to
check that the sticks are parallel - I used a couple of lazer levels but as
bud says the eye was just as accurate. I then centered the sticks by using
a spirit level on the top of the aluminium stick socket - I figured if the
top of the socket was level then the stick would be vertical. Using a long
1/4 bolt I marked the center point on the seat front - drilled a 1/4 in
hole and now i have the sticks centered and held.
6. Next I turned my attention the fuze QD. Using a cut down spirit
level which I had previously checked for accuracy i checked that the QDs
were vertical with the sticks vertical. ( I had previously leveled the
fuze both ways). they were.
7. I put is all together and hey presto very close to perfect.
8. Ive still got some fiddling around to do but buds instructions were
spot on.
the take aways from this are:
- measuring tools are not tools they are "instruments" and require
checking.
- Only some of the levels i had were accurate
- I had previously used a old style clinometer - like
a protractor with a dial- it simply wasn't accurate enough
- check all your instruments coincide before you start
- the free download clinometer is the absolute business
as accurate as the smart level and a lot cheaper
- You get better at this as you go along. I was pretty much sure I had
done the process right the first time a couple of years back.
- There was a wrinkle which as the right wing aileron movement which I
would have picked up if I had had the right kit.
thanks for all help and suggestions I hope this is the last bleat (on this
subject)
yours
Will
William Daniell
LONGPORT
+57 310 295 0744
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