Problem with Flaperon Brackets

[Eric Page]

Today I got started on fitting the flaperon brackets to the wings, and right away I ran into a problem. As you can see in the photo below, the bend in the right-hand bracket isn't properly aligned with the axis of the bracket, so the flange that mounts to the cap strip isn't straight. With the two brackets parallel to one another (notice the second -10 washer), this causes the rivet holes to be misaligned, putting a couple of the holes at the forward end of the bracket half off of the cap strip.

IMG_1925.jpg

Even if I don't make the brackets parallel (by removing the washer), there still isn't adequate edge margin. There's no hole for the washer anyway, so I presume you're not meant to mount the brackets parallel.

IMG_1926.jpg

Many of my brackets either have the bend in the wrong place, or have another problem. At the forward end of the bend, a bit of steel sticks out to the side, which prevents the brackets from sitting flush against one another, again leaving inadequate edge margin.

IMG_1927.jpg

Has anyone else found these problems, and figured out a solution?

My only thought on this is to grind away the protruding bits of steel at the forward end of each bracket, then drill new rivet holes that will provide better edge margin on the cap strips and the underlying reinforcement brackets. But, that'll look pretty bad. And, it won't salvage the right-hand bracket in that first photo.

[alexM]

I had this exact problem. First I went through the entire stack and used my rubber dead blow hammer and aluminum jaws in my vise to square up all the brackets until they were all pretty dang close to perfect. I recall that one 'side' were almost all good, while the opposite hand parts almost all needed some love.

Next, I used my 2" disc to address that "fish mouth" condition shown in your photo so the forward tips of the brackets could rest close together and allow a parallel, uniform gap. Doing so grinds away the cad plating so I will be doing a primer/paint routine on these brackets before riveting them on the covered wings.

Edit:
A couple of other things to add. First off, I didn't measure anything or use washers. I put the brackets on the flaperons (all of them not just 1 and 9) and clamped the brackets to the wings, shifting everything around until it was all perfect and the hinges worked as smooth as I could get them. Then I got busy with the drill, checking for hinge motion and putting only 1-2 holes at a time and working my way around the entire trailing edge until all the holes had Clecos in them.

Next, the manual stresses how you want that gap to be uniform and parallel - and that's awesome for the sake of appearance. But that gap isn't some kind of flap track where something has to slide in there. What really matters, and where I focused my effort, was making sure that the two ears that hang down below the wing are parallel with each other, are perpendicular to the bottom of the trailing edge, and that the holes in the brackets are lined up.

[Kitfox Pilot]

Eric I used a perfect pair, haha, on both ends so nothing interfered from the over hang and used the ones like you have pictured on the middle ribs where overhang doesn't matter and yes you can drill new hole where needed.

[Geek]

I had the same issue with the ends where I had to grind them to get them to sit right. That one bracket on the right is most definitely off where the rivet holes are biased to the outboard which doesn't give you much purchase on the cap. I would probably send Brandon a pic of that one and see if there wasn't a spare laying around that he could send you cause you're right - drilling new holes will just look wonky no matter how you slice it.

G

[Delta Whisky]

Eric - after some minor influencing like the discussions above, some of mine aligned correctly. Others ended up being sandwiched together and then the flaperon hinge bracket went on a side of the paired mounting bracket (not between them).

[bumsteer]

Eric
Guess I got lucky. Since I mounted the new style reinforcing bracket right over the old style, there was about a 1/16 inch sticking out from the capstrip which was enough for safe installation. Otherwise I had the same problem on some.
Rick

[Benbell4140]

Eric
Guess I got lucky. Since I mounted the new style reinforcing bracket right over the old style, there was about a 1/16 inch sticking out from the capstrip which was enough for safe installation. Otherwise I had the same problem on some.
Rick

Same here..


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[Eric Page]

Thanks, gents. Sorry for posting the question then dropping off the map; I had to go pay the bills for a few days.

Alex, yes, I'm seeing the same issue with one side being worse than the other. Most of my left brackets are bent in the right place and just have the "fish mouth" problem at the forward end, while many of the right brackets are bent at an angle. I'll see what the factory says about them, but I might have to adopt your method of percussive correction.

Delta Whisky, I hadn't thought about mounting the flaperon hinge to the side of the brackets instead of between them. I'll keep that idea in mind when I get further along. Thanks.

Bumsteer, I did the same thing with my reinforcing brackets (mounted over the factory build), but mine don't stick out past the cap strips at all.

Can someone send me a private message with Brandon's email address? The only Kitfox emails I have are for the ladies in the front office.

[Eric Page]

Thanks to all who messaged me with Brandon's email. I've sent him a message and will update this thread with his advice.

[Eric Page]

Following up on this... I did get some advice from Brandon at Kitfox, and an offer to replace any brackets that I couldn't use.

Like Alex suggested, Brandon said to grind the bulbous forward ends on the brackets so they would come together more closely. I did that on a couple that were bent pretty close to the right spot, but on most of the rest it wasn't going to be enough. With those, I clamped the brackets very tightly in aluminum vise jaws and cold-hammered the bend to re-form it in the correct place. I couldn't move the steel with a dead-blow hammer, so I switched to a smooth-faced steel framing hammer and that did the trick.

Some of the brackets aren't as pretty as I would like, but they all fit on the cap strips now. Once they're primed and painted, the blemishes will disappear. Problem solved; on to the next problem.