Fred,
Its really an easy fix to do it with the factory supplied parts.
I removed the old plates by grinding off the bid with a dremel then heating
the plates to remove them. Next I ground away the flox underneath to get a
nice flat surface - note I didn't even remove the anti servo tabs from the
stabilator.
I then put the stabs back on the plane and glued the new tabs in place with
flox while everything was hooked up. This makes it very easy to line
everything up. I used clamps to hold the tabs level and wedged some balsa
wood between the rudder and the new metal plates to hold them tight while
they dried. The next day I did remove the anti-servo tabs from the stab and
layed up the bid over the top of the new tabs as per the instructions.
The whole job only took a few hours and some drying time! The trick is to
do it on the plane and not try to use a jig, which probably wouldn't give
you perfect tab alingment anyway (never worked for me!).
Later
Bob Jacobsen
A131
From: Fred Fillinger <fillinger@ameritech.net>
>Subject: Trim Tab Drive Plate (Mod 58)
>Date: Sun, 29 Jul 2001 20:22:24 -0400
>
>Hi, all --
>
>I know some have to do this, but it follows a failure on only one A/C,
>a demo with 450 cycles, an no joy on a sample of others. I'm
>wondering about an alternative method for completed tabs, as it will
>now be an important inspection item.
>
>Maybe a piece of 1/4" aluminum, cut to the outline of the exposed
>plate and filed to a taper, and Redux'd to the inboard side, so the
>1/4" thick part of it is bonded to the tab's skin. Maybe further to
>prevent any remaining flexing from pulling the tab's skin away from
>the foam, a small patch of carbon fiber cloth there before bonding the
>aluminum block. Any other ideas?
>
>Was the failure A/C, GBXS, a mono? They blame shaking on engine
>startup and related phenomena. But can the beating the tail takes
>when operating on rough turf maybe contribute also? I have a
>tri-gear, and am prone toward an easier fix, if this is a factor too.
>
>Regards,
>Fred F., A063
|