Thursday, July 13, 2006
F-449 Suggestions from VANS
I advised VANS of the problem I was having. This was their response.
"I've heard that in some cases the ears seem to be too far back like
this, I don't know why; maybe the plans, maybe the parts. It's usually
not necessary to do anything. The fore and aft movement of the
pushrods is negligible at the fuse side, and it doesn't matter if they
are centered in the hole or not, so long as they have decent
clearance (say 3/16" min). If they don't, the hole can be enlarged a
little.
You can leave the weldment mounted the 7/16 further forward, I
doubt it will affect much. The stick won't hit the panel if you move it
forward, it goes under it. It's possible the rear stick will hit the front
seat back though; you may need to increase the curvature to clear."
I have now made two brackets. The one to plan, which caused the problem, and one that moves the mounting bearing 7/16" forward. I tried to simulate the location of the aileron pushrod today to see how it will actually position through the holes. It's a smaller diameter rod than used on the -9A I had, so this will reduce the problem.
What I have decided to do is not drill the holes that locate the rear support for the control column, until I test fit the wings, and then decide which bracket I want to use. By adjusting the height of the front bearing (I cant find that defined in the plans) it might just be possible to use the VANS defined part, though it locates the 'ears' on the aft limit. My concern is the geometry of how the sticks fit, though I do not perceive this to be a major issue.
"I've heard that in some cases the ears seem to be too far back like
this, I don't know why; maybe the plans, maybe the parts. It's usually
not necessary to do anything. The fore and aft movement of the
pushrods is negligible at the fuse side, and it doesn't matter if they
are centered in the hole or not, so long as they have decent
clearance (say 3/16" min). If they don't, the hole can be enlarged a
little.
You can leave the weldment mounted the 7/16 further forward, I
doubt it will affect much. The stick won't hit the panel if you move it
forward, it goes under it. It's possible the rear stick will hit the front
seat back though; you may need to increase the curvature to clear."
I have now made two brackets. The one to plan, which caused the problem, and one that moves the mounting bearing 7/16" forward. I tried to simulate the location of the aileron pushrod today to see how it will actually position through the holes. It's a smaller diameter rod than used on the -9A I had, so this will reduce the problem.
What I have decided to do is not drill the holes that locate the rear support for the control column, until I test fit the wings, and then decide which bracket I want to use. By adjusting the height of the front bearing (I cant find that defined in the plans) it might just be possible to use the VANS defined part, though it locates the 'ears' on the aft limit. My concern is the geometry of how the sticks fit, though I do not perceive this to be a major issue.
