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Rudder hinge

22 posts in this topic

Posted

I was gonna go flyin today, nice and sunny and calm. my pre flight was going good till I came around to the tail, I check all the hinges on every thing, when I checked the tail hinge(there kinda like an I-bolt as mine has the speedster tail), the three in the middle where broken. So i only had one on the top and one on the bottom holding my rudder in place. It really took me by surprise cause I don't remember them being broken the last time I flew. So now I guess I need to know where to find some replacements. Has anyone had those brake before? 

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Posted

Picture would have helped a bunch.  What make and model of plane is it?  Asked that question, and then I looked again at your name and your picture, and I'm guessing you have a Kitfox 4.  Both of my Kitfox 4s have the heim joints for the rudder hinges.  JImChuk

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Posted

Sorry,  I didn't think to get a picture till I had left. Yes it is a model 4.  I believe it's a heim joint

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Posted (edited)

Mine are 3/6” diameter clevis pins held in place with a cotter pin. MS20392

Edited by Av8r3400

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Posted

I dug through some pictures from my first Kitfox 4 build, and found a few where I was able to crop out the rudder.  None were real good closeups though.  Are these the type of rudder hinges you have?  JImChuk

IMG_1029 (Large).jpg

new Kitfox 4 001 (Large).jpg

new Kitfox 4 007 (Large).jpg

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Posted

Yup those are what I have. The only difference is i have 5 hinges instead of 3. I'll be going to the airport today to take the rudder off so I'll post up what I find

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Posted (edited)

I got the rudder off and there's 4 hinges not 5

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Edited by FireFoxIV

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Posted

Man i hate to say it but when was last time they where cleaned and lubed. Could have had some rust/dirt ect in a few of the heim joints and when pivoted it snapped them off, course would take multipule times bending left and right over a period of time. And the threaded section under the nut is the weakest point as it streched from tightening, ive had some of them break on the race cars thro the yrs. 

Just my thoughts. 

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Posted

All of those breaks are clean and shining.. Took a pretty significant load to snap those off.  If it had happened over time, you would see rust in the break where it was cracking out till it finally gave way.  Did you land hard and smack the tail?  Were there any significant winds in your area that could have been banging the rudder back and forth?

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Posted

I am pretty sure that I could not come up with a more difficult way to hang a rudder.  There is some creativity there and proof that someone at the factory should be piss tested for coming up with this arrangement.  Simple hinges like the elevator uses have worked since the beginning of flight..

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Posted (edited)

Man i hate to say it but when was last time they where cleaned and lubed. Could have had some rust/dirt ect in a few of the heim joints and when pivoted it snapped them off, course would take multipule times bending left and right over a period of time.

my thoughts exactly!!! I'm pretty sure they weren't lubed on the last annual I think I'm going to go ahead and lube all of the other hinges. 

 

can I use water/soap to clean out the inside?

Edited by FireFoxIV

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Posted

Did you land hard and smack the tail?  Were there any significant winds in your area that could have been banging the rudder back and forth?

I've had a few bouncy landings but nothing hard enough to do something like that. Since I've had the airplane it's never spent a night outside and I only fly when the winds are less than 10kts

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Posted

If you are going to lube, be careful that is it s greaseless lubricant so you don't attract more dirt and grime.  I would say reach in there with a small wire brush and knock the dirt out followed by a shot of compressed air or a shop vac to clean them out.  a hiem joint should not lock up and not rotate.  That looks much more like a shock load did it in and not just normal use.  Like a tail wheel coming up and smacking the bottom of the rudder or something of that nature.

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Posted

If you are going to lube, be careful that is it s greaseless lubricant so you don't attract more dirt and grime.  I would say reach in there with a small wire brush and knock the dirt out followed by a shot of compressed air or a shop vac to clean them out.  a hiem joint should not lock up and not rotate.  That looks much more like a shock load did it in and not just normal use.  Like a tail wheel coming up and smacking the bottom of the rudder or something of that nature.

thanks, that's what I'll do then 

there's no tellin what happened before I got it

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Posted

There was a couple Mud Dobber nest in the rudder that I knocked out, is there any way to tighten the fabric back up?20200110_144258.thumb.jpg.b3dde661a52d0e20200110_144328.thumb.jpg.94f1ca647b82df20200110_144324.thumb.jpg.0226f430d19ed4

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Posted

I think I would change out all those heim joint fittings, not just the broken ones.  JImChuk

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Posted

Yes, I've decided it was hard enough to take off I'll do them all so I won't have to take it off again if the other 2 break

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Posted

A very careful application of a heat gun will re tighten the fabric.  Start about 2' away and slowly move closer , keep the gun moving over about a square foot or so.  Take your time a quit as soon as it is tight.  stay away from the tapes.

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Posted

  stay away from the tapes.

 What if the burble is on the tape?

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Posted

You will know when you start using the heat gun.  It will pull about 98% or better of it out.  don't get it too close and don't get in a hurry.  It will shrink the fabric and pull the tape tight again.

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Posted

I am pretty sure that I could not come up with a more difficult way to hang a rudder.  There is some creativity there and proof that someone at the factory should be piss tested for coming up with this arrangement.  Simple hinges like the elevator uses have worked since the beginning of flight..

One of the reasons that the first thing I did was to torch off all of those damn rod end bearings.  The dumbest idea ever for a rudder hinge!

 

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Posted

And they sure are hard to get off:wacko:

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