Having got my ailerons back from the painter, I weighed them. The port one was
2480g before filling, profiling & painting; that whole process has added 625g
to make it now 3105g. The starboard one was 2495g, and gained 670g to make it
3165g. The paint was 2-pack automotive which I was assured would turn out much
lighter (and cheaper!) than the gel-coat I had originally envisaged.
I started into the balancing procedure described in the manual. I found my
hinges
are not quite free enough to let the ailerons swing freely from them, so I
made loops of nylon fishing line, put them under the hinge knuckles and
suspended
the ailerons from them. Alas! - both the ailerons balance with the TE slightly
down. I find that if I put a lead weight on one horn, I can make the aileron
balance level. My piece of lead weighs 366g and level balance is obtained
with it about 50mm forward of the hinge line.
Thus the out-of-balance moment towards the TE is 0.0183 metre-kg. I wonder if
there
is any tolerance on the amount of out-of-balance that is allowed or is safe
- but I dont want to take any chances with flutter.
Avid readers of my online build journal will recall that in May 2003, on advice
---From Neville about getting the proper aileron travel, I shaved a little off
the
top of the lead weights before attaching them to the aileron horns. It now
appears that either I must have shaved too much or that the painting has been
much more generous than Neville expected.
What should I do? I suppose the ideal thing is to rub down all the paint back to
the glass/filler again and ask the painter to put on a lighter coat. I dont
have access to depleted uranium to insert into the mass horns to make them
heavier!
I hope I might see Andy Draper at the LAA Rally and ask for his advice, but
would
welcome any thoughts others on this forum might have on the matter.
in friendship
Rowland
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