flaperons

[Flybyjim]

Thank you all for the encouragement on this step. I made the jigs today and that went well so this weekend I hope to get the linkage together. I restored an 1947 L16A over the past several years and there had been repairs done on this old bird over it's life. She is not square on the rigging, the wing attachment above the door is a bit lower than the other side but the plane flys well with a little trimming on the struts. As with most all of us we want our projects as perfect as we can make them, thanks for the responses. Every time I have asked a question on this site I have received valuable advice. I hope I can pay it forward as I learn the Kitfox build.

[Floog]

During the rigging process toward the end of the build, isn't any small misalignment or mismeasurement taken up with the angular adjustments of the push rod heim joints? At that point, I guess you're just ensuring both sides are equal and centered. In straight and level flight, I wondered what kind of 'load' was on the flaperons. I reached back over the seat to see if I could move the pushrods by 'twisting' them back and forth. I could do this quite easily, almost felt the same as on the ground not moving. It was a warm and fuzzy moment
The angles on those flaperon arms affect how the airplane rolls with respect to P factor, I believe. So if they were off a little, the roll wouldn't be balanced in the way it was designed.

[TahoeTim]

True, but the arms also seem to be crucial regarding the differential relationship between the left and right aileron and equal flaperon deployment. I watched the linkages with curiosity after I assembled it. I determined that I could not dial out the error in arm position to correct the change in differential or the flaperon angle. What does that mean? IMHO, if you are off on the arm placement then your plane will possibly bank quicker one way over the other which is no big deal at all. However, if your plane banks when you pull the flaps, that would be annoying to say the least. You can't adjust the rod ends to solve both "errors". When the time comes, I will probably go for no drift when pulling flaps.

Maybe the factory could confirm my theory?

[efwd]

Well Tim, I am glad I fixed mine then. Thanks for the post.
Eddie