I Almost Lost My Mind Today

[cainbird]

I installed the rudder on my plane today (model 4 speedster tail) and it was one of the most frustrating things I have ever done to an airplane! Getting all the rod ends threaded in to just the right depth (which can only be varified by mounting trial and error) was about a 1 hour job. Next inserting the four mounting bolts was EXTREMELY difficult because the access holes in the rudder are only about 1" in diameter. I finally succeeded using a combination of long tweezers with some pieces of 1/8" blue fuel line slid over the ends to improve their grip, an antena magnet, and some of my favorite vocabulary! Just after you get the third bolt in and you think you have got it made, you drop the fourth bolt down into the rudder and can't fish it out with the magnet. Remove the rudder, shake the bolt out and start all over again! All in all I think I spent about five hours working on it. It probably didn't help that it was only about 10 degrees out today. I hope to never take the rudder off again and would consider selling the plane if I had too! And I still have to figure out how to put the nuts on and cotter pins in!! Dorsal and his son stopped in to say hi today and there are some little frozen drool marks in the snow where his model 7 was parked! Very nice Dorsal

[Dorsal]

Cain, might be a little late but I have a cool tool specifically designed to put the bolts in the rudder. If you ever have to do it again, call me. To put the nuts on I used a piece of masking tape on one side of a box end wrench. It is a miserable job that is good to have behind you, should be a piece of cake from here on out

[DanB]

Cainbird,
Welcome to the club. Someone should have told you that installing the rudder bolts is the unofficial Kitfox indoctrination.

[jtpitkin06]

For readers/builders that may not have reached the rudder installation, here are some tips.

These tips apply to the Model 7 SS with the speedster rib kits. They may be useful to those building a classic IV as well.

Remove the center ball end from the vertical stab while you do test fitting of the rudder and trimming of the fairings. Having only two bearings to line up is much easier. Get the top and bottom of the rudder evenly spaced away from the vertical stab so there is no rudder interference with the fairings or the rudder stops. Do all of the trimming on the fairings before you install the center bearing.

Before you attempt to slide the hinge bolts in place on the rudder, attach a safety line. Use a 12 inch length of .020 safety wire wrapped two or three turns around the bolt shank just below the head. Twist a 1 inch diameter finger loop in the other end of the wire.

To hold your bolts during installation, use a short 6 inch mechanical finger tool. Most auto parts carry them for under $6. Grip the bolt on the shank, just below the head. The tool will grip the bolt firmly and give you enough pressure to push the bolt into the bearing. Should you drop the bolt during install you can simply pull the bolt out with the safety wire.

Once you have the hinge bolt in position and partly inserted, a firm pull on the safety wire will release the bolt as the wire unwinds. Then push the bolt down.

To install the nuts use a box end wrench and a ratcheting box end wrench (Gear Wrench) together. A 3/8 inch Gear Wrench needs only enough room to slide the box end into position and swing about 10 degrees. To get the nut started, place tape across the bottom of the regular box end wrench to hold the nut and prevent it from falling through. Turn the bolt with the Gear Wrench to start it into the nut. Once the nut is on and you start to get some drag, swap the wrenches and use the Gear Wrench to tighten the nut and the regular box to hold the bolt.

[Note: If you don’t have a set of Gear Wrenches, put them on your wish list. They are available at Lowe’s and Sears. A full set of imperial wrenches is about $42. For aircraft work they are well worth it.]

To align the center ball end, use a 3/16 inch diameter steel rod. Slide the rod through all three ball ends. It will quickly show you where the center ball end needs adjustment. (The top and bottom are already set when you trim the fairings and make slots for the rudder limiter.)

You’ll find the fuselage rudder stops are not far enough aft with the speedster rib kit. They are about 1/4 inch short of preventing the rudder from hitting the elevator. Mark where the rudder limit tabs should contact the fuselage rudder stops. Drill the rudder stops with a 3/16 bit. Install an AN3-4 bolt on each rudder stop. The bolt head will be the new stop. Use AN960-10 or 10L washers under the bolt heads as spacers to set the limit of rudder throw. [You will need to have the elevator installed to check the rudder limit.]

Speedster kit pre-cover info: Because the slots in the rudder leading edge can allow water to enter the rudder it is imperative that you do an extra good job of waterproofing the wood ribs and painting the inside of the rudder. Be sure to provide limber holes for water to drain out of the rudder. Aircraft without the speed kit have the rudder hinges outside of the covering.

Using the above methods, I have installed and removed my rudder several times in just a few minutes. It is easy and I’ve never dropped a bolt inside the rudder that I couldn’t simply pull up with the safety wire.

I hope this helps a fellow builder.

John Pitkin
Greenville, TX

[cainbird]

Thanks for the tips guys, some good info here. I will install the nuts and cotter pins today and this will be but just a memory tomorrow. I will try to snap a picture today and post tonight.

[Dorsal]

John, nice write up, would make a good addendum to the manual or at least something to put in the reference section of this group.

[Dorsal]

Thanks for the tips guys, some good info here. I will install the nuts and cotter pins today and this will be but just a memory tomorrow. I will try to snap a picture today and post tonight.

Cain, I hope others correct me if I am wrong here but I recall the nuts being nyloc vs castle and cotter.

[cainbird]

Dorsal,
Funny you should mention this. I couldn't recall what type of nuts I took off when I disassembled the rudder for re-cover. Yesterday I went through my nuts and bolts and found the bolts I removed and they were not drilled for a cotter pin. I was always taught that if the bolt was holding something that moved, like a control surface or control linkage, it should be a castellated nut. I was worried I would get some grief at inspection time so I drilled the four bolts to received cotter pins before I installed them. I have noticed that there are a several places that I would have thought should have had castellated nuts installed, but didn't. Some of the elevator control linkage, where the rudder cables attach to the rudder, the rudder itself just to name a few. Perhaps because the rudder uses rod ends there is no tendency for the bolt to move therefore nylocks are ok. Not trying to open canned worms here, just an observation from an old cow hand!

[DanB]

One other "trick" that I recalled when starting the nut...I took a popsicle stick and put a drop of superglue on the end then placed the nut on the superglue. When dry it is then easy to control the start of the nut without dropping it. Once the nut is started, then change up to the wrenches.

[enyaw]

We haven't gotten to this point, but I picked up one of these (TurnPro Magnetic Finger) in hopes that it will make the task easier (easy would be too much to hope for).