I'm not going to do a pulley in the back, forward of the hole. There I will
use a Delrin block fairlead on the bulkhead frame like Charlie did. I think
that angle can be minimized, and the loads there are contained inside not
only the fairlead, but also the bulkhead frame itself. I will also have
pulleys where the fuse angles in, at the back of the baggage area, as Wayne
reminds.
At the forward door post, I didn't actually measure the angle from rudder
pedal to the door post (yet) but it looked like more than 3 deg. to the
unaided eye. Mostly, it just looked like too much -- even if the first
fairlead was located halfway back under the door. Before coming back to the
computer and this email a few minutes ago, I finished installing the left
forward pulley and, notwithstanding the advice, which I really appreciate,
I'm very glad I did. Looking at that angle the decision was not difficult.
There are at least three reasons I wouldn't do this any other way, all
arising from personal experience, which may not be significant to others.
Reason #1: Last summer I got to do some super duper spin recovery & unusual
attitude training with Master CFI Rich Stowell, who wrote the book on the
topic. (
http://www.richstowell.com -- highly recommended.) Flying in his
Decathlon, doing various spins for a couple hours from different entries, I
quickly learned the desirability of a rudder cable that you can really stomp
on when you get the, uh... urge. As RIch was fond of saying, "Stomp on it
like your life depends on it... because it does."
Reason #2: As mentioned earlier, I've also experienced what happens when a
fairlead fails and the cable goes limp. Not pretty, don't want to go there.
So even though with no pulleys at all Walter continues to lead a charmed
life [which, as a truly great guy he surely deserves!!] -- IMHO fairleads
are for wires to slip through, not for any kind of twisting side loads. A
fairlead failure is most likely to happen when you need it most. Stomp.
Reason #3: . It's something I don't want to worry about when I encounter
some unexpected wake turbulence and the plane is suddenly upside down, down
low. Been there. Stomp.
Yes, forward pulleys add a little weight but... it is a control system after
all, and for me, an extra smooth, heavy duty, worry free control cable is a
personal design requirement -- worth beefing up a little.
I also saw a similar (but cleaner) installation of forward door post pulleys
on Craig Wall's web site (
http://www.alaskanrebel.com -- great workmanship
and info there!) and it looked so super that along with the all above, the
forward pulley decision was pretty much a no brainer -- to me.
The left forward pulley doesn't interfere with leg room at all, because it's
a good deal smaller than the aileron bell crank underneath. I haven't
installed the right side yet, but holding the parts in place, the pulley is
small, only extending off the wall at most another 1-1/4" more than the
angled cable would otherwise, and I don't think it will be a problem.
Eric, as you know, we would love to have you visit whenever you can. Fine
cuisine, luxurious accommodations, and valet service will be provided, of
course. :)
Ron
254R
On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 9:23 PM, Eric Fogelin <
elist@whidbey.com> wrote:
Hey Ron, I owe you another visit.
I too worried about the exit and routing of the rudder cables. I like what
I
got and will drop by with the next break in the weather and work.
The best advice I got when laying out the cables was to estimate where the
exit hole should go, drill a small hole, route some hardware store steel
cable initially to the rudder horns and then let it saw through the
aluminum
until it finds its natural resting place. If you do even a half-way descent
effort at eyeballing the location, the cable will only cut a 1/4 inch gash.
And you'll need that exit hole size enlarged anyway.
Just kidding.
But, don't overthink the problem. It's only aluminum. If you need a patch
aka doubler after it's done, it will be hidden by the rudder cable fairing
that you should install (Aircraft Spruce part).
Eric
N645E
P.S. Easy for me to say after spending way too many hours worrying about
this same problem.
-----Original Message-----
From:
mike.davis@dcsol.com [mailto:
mike.davis@dcsol.com] On Behalf Of Ron
Shannon
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 10:45 AM
To:
rebel-builders@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: [rebel-builders] cable guide rivets
That's what I was thinking, Wayne. Properly routed, there's not supposed to
be a lot of load on these, but I had an experience with a rudder cable
guide
pull-out failure... which immediately reduced rudder control to mushy at
best, induced major tailwheel shimmy, etc. Not fun.
Ron
254R
On Thu, Apr 1, 2010 at 6:07 AM, Wayne G. O'Shea
<
oifa@irishfield.on.ca>wrote:
I use RV1414's Ron! I'd like them to stay put..
----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron Shannon" <
rshannon@cruzcom.com>
To: <
rebel-builders@dcsol.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 01, 2010 2:35 AM
Subject: [rebel-builders] cable guide rivets
The manual (Ch.20, p. 39) says to attach the RG-1 cable guides with
RR-7408
alum. rivets. Is that correct? The RR-7408's I have are 5/8", which
seems
too long. It looks like the max. grip required anywhere would be at
most
half that or less, or 1/4" - 5/16". They appear to have aluminum
mandrels,
so maybe the sleeve is extra soft too, and will compress a lot?
Ron
254R
-----------------------------------------------------------------
List archives located at:
https://mail.dcsol.com/login
username "rebel" password "builder"
Unsubscribe:
rebel-builders-unsubscribe@dcsol.com
List administrator:
mike.davis@dcsol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
List archives located at:
https://mail.dcsol.com/login
username "rebel" password "builder"
Unsubscribe:
rebel-builders-unsubscribe@dcsol.com
List administrator:
mike.davis@dcsol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------
List archives located at:
https://mail.dcsol.com/login
username "rebel" password "builder"
Unsubscribe:
rebel-builders-unsubscribe@dcsol.com
List administrator:
mike.davis@dcsol.com
-----------------------------------------------------------------
