Control Column Question

Mike Kimball · Post by **Mike Kimball** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:38 pm

Hi everyone,

I just finished putting the control column together on my SR. What a pain.
Was there a better way than using hemostats and needle nose pliers to get
the bolt through the control stick fittings, tangs on the aileron control
cable, and the aileron push rod end fittings, and eventually the nut on the
bolt? There sure isn't much room for the nut. I also had a hard time
jambing a wrench in there to tighten the nut. To keep it from rubbing on
the inside of the control tube I ended up using one washer on one of the
bolt heads for the right control stick fitting and two washers on the other
bolt head for the left control stick fitting. The welded on tangs that
stick up from the control tube were not exactly in line with each other. I
had to bend the right one a bit and use the extra washer to keep the nut
from rubbing on the inside of the control tube. Does all of this sound
familiar to anyone else or did I do something wrong? Will there be a danger
of the nut hanging up on the control tube when elevator pressure is applied?
Also, I was surprised at the friction in the system since the control stick
fittings are merely bolted between the welded on tangs sticking up from the
control tube. I stuck a three foot long piece of wood in a control stick
fitting and the friction is hardly noticeable way up there but I wonder if
the ailerons will self center in flight or if there might be too much
friction. I purposely did not crank down on the bolts through the fittings.
I just made sure the nut was seated on the washer and that the bolt was
through the nylon insert.

Mike Kimball
SR #044

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Don Boardman · Post by **Don Boardman** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:38 pm

Mike,

We found a similar situation with our control column.
We have it in place to run the aileron cables.
At this time we are using 4 washers on each side of the cable tangs to keep
them and the push tube centered. We are using non locking nuts on the bolts.
For final assembly I am thinking that castle nuts and cotter pins should be
used as you do not want to tighten the nuts, pinching surfaces which have to
be free to rotate. Just bring the nuts up to the surface to take out any
play and use a cotter pin. I also plan to use no washer under the heads of
the push tube/cable tang bolts and cut off the extra threads that protrude
beyond the castle nut preventing the heads and bolt ends from contacting the
inside to the control tube.

Feedback welcome.

Don Boardman
& Partner
Randy Bowers
SR130 Rome, NY

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Mike Kimball · Post by **Mike Kimball** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:38 pm

Sounds like the same ideas I had. For the bolts inside the control tube to
hold the cable to the push rod I managed to find bolts that were just right,
with judicious use of the right combination of washers, so that no threads
were extending beyond the nut, although the nut was fully on the bolt
threads. Castle nut on the bolts holding the control stick fittings sounds
like the right thing to do as well. Thanks.

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com [mailto:murphy-rebel@dcsol.com]On Behalf Of
Don Boardman
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2002 5:02 PM
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: Control Column Question

Mike,

We found a similar situation with our control column.
We have it in place to run the aileron cables.
At this time we are using 4 washers on each side of the cable tangs to keep
them and the push tube centered. We are using non locking nuts on the bolts.
For final assembly I am thinking that castle nuts and cotter pins should be
used as you do not want to tighten the nuts, pinching surfaces which have to
be free to rotate. Just bring the nuts up to the surface to take out any
play and use a cotter pin. I also plan to use no washer under the heads of
the push tube/cable tang bolts and cut off the extra threads that protrude
beyond the castle nut preventing the heads and bolt ends from contacting the
inside to the control tube.

Feedback welcome.

Don Boardman
& Partner
Randy Bowers
SR130 Rome, NY

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Don Boardman · Post by **Don Boardman** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:38 pm

Sounds like the same ideas I had. For the bolts inside the control tube to
hold the cable to the push rod I managed to find bolts that were just right,
with judicious use of the right combination of washers, so that no threads
were extending beyond the nut, although the nut was fully on the bolt
threads. Castle nut on the bolts holding the control stick fittings sounds
like the right thing to do as well. Thanks.

Mike

Mike,

Ideally the bolts "grip" will be through the fitting metal. Therefore my
need to cut off the excess threads.

Don

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Wayne G. O'Shea · Post by **Wayne G. O'Shea** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:38 pm

This is very similar to the "juggle" of grip/washers and nuts on the Rebel's
control column & sticks. Now that I have to do another assembly, in my SR, I
am going to have a look through my extensive (1000's) of clevis bolts and
see if there are any the right size. They have a nice rounded head, so no
snag on that side, and a little less thread to protrude on the other than a
normal AN bolt. Will let you know if I find the right size and if I do and
it's one of the "deeper" trays I will make them available to builders.

Regards,
Wayne G. O'Shea
www.irishfield.on.ca

----- Original Message -----
From: "Don Boardman" <dboardm3@twcny.rr.com>
To: <murphy-rebel@dcsol.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2002 9:35 PM
Subject: Re: Control Column Question

Sounds like the same ideas I had. For the bolts inside the control tube

to

hold the cable to the push rod I managed to find bolts that were just

right,

with judicious use of the right combination of washers, so that no

threads

were extending beyond the nut, although the nut was fully on the bolt
threads. Castle nut on the bolts holding the control stick fittings

sounds

like the right thing to do as well. Thanks.

Mike
Mike,

Ideally the bolts "grip" will be through the fitting metal. Therefore my
need to cut off the excess threads.

Don

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scott.hibbs · Post by **scott.hibbs** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:38 pm

Hi Mike, I just finished the column on the Rebel I am building. I had the
same problem. Using tiny needle nose pliers to hold washers in place, doing
it over and over as I experimented with what combination of washers and
locations would keep the nut and bolt end from rubbing the inside.

Scott

->
-> Hi everyone,
->
-> I just finished putting the control column together on my SR. What a pain.
<snip>
-> Mike Kimball
-> SR #044
->

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Mike Kimball · Post by **Mike Kimball** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:38 pm

You are absolutely right, which is why I used specific washers (including
the thin ones) on the nut side of the bolt to keep the unthreaded portion
of the bolt in contact with all that stuff it goes through, and the threads
sticking out the end with the washers and nut with no threads showing.
However, to give me more room, I might go with your method of shortening the
threaded portion of the bolt and using shear nuts which are thinner.

Mike

-----Original Message-----
From: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com [mailto:murphy-rebel@dcsol.com]On Behalf Of
Don Boardman
Sent: Sunday, January 13, 2002 5:36 PM
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com
Subject: Re: Control Column Question

Sounds like the same ideas I had. For the bolts inside the control tube

to

hold the cable to the push rod I managed to find bolts that were just

right,

with judicious use of the right combination of washers, so that no threads
were extending beyond the nut, although the nut was fully on the bolt
threads. Castle nut on the bolts holding the control stick fittings

sounds

like the right thing to do as well. Thanks.

Mike

Mike,

Ideally the bolts "grip" will be through the fitting metal. Therefore my
need to cut off the excess threads.

Don

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Terry Sack · Post by **Terry Sack** » Fri Feb 17, 2012 9:38 pm

When I was doing my control column I super glued the washers together with
just a drop. It holds the washers long enough to grip the whole bunch with
pliers and get positioned. I had to try several times before I got the
right number of washers and this really expedited the fitting process.

-----Original Message-----
From: scott.hibbs@dcsol.com <scott.hibbs@dcsol.com>
To: murphy-rebel@dcsol.com <murphy-rebel@dcsol.com>
Date: Monday, January 14, 2002 7:55 AM
Subject: RE: Control Column Question

Hi Mike, I just finished the column on the Rebel I am building. I had the
same problem. Using tiny needle nose pliers to hold washers in place,

doing

it over and over as I experimented with what combination of washers and
locations would keep the nut and bolt end from rubbing the inside.

Scott

->
-> Hi everyone,
->
-> I just finished putting the control column together on my SR. What a

pain.

<snip>
-> Mike Kimball
-> SR #044
->

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