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Matt Dralle's RV-6 Project
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Date: 10-15-2011
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Number of Hours: 1.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Electric Elevator Trim Retrofit - Part 01
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The Flyer had, believe it or not, *manual* elevator trim. This consisted of a long, heavy control cable that went from the elevator trim tab all the way up through the fuselage, under the seats, and then curved around and terminated above the fuel selector valve in a large vernier control. As with the flaps, I knew after the second flight that this had to go.
The problem is that retrofitting electric elevator trim presents some installation issues as the stock method assumes that you haven't yet riveted the elevator together. I suppose it might be possible to carefully cut a preexisting elevator skin but adding the stiffener and other bits and pieces just seems like a good way to ruin a perfectly good elevator. Mike and I discussed a variety of interesting techniques for mounting the servo in the area under the vertical fin and using a short 28-30" inch standard push rod. It took a few iterations and various cable length orders to get it just right, but I'm happy to report that Mike's hard labor paid off! The installation looks and works great!! Servicing the servo is as easy as removing the fiberglass tail fairing.
In the air, the setup works just as great as it looks. I didn't even need a regulator (aka Matronics Governor MkIII), as the trim sensitivity seems just right to me.
Thanks for your great engineering and installation on this project, Mike!
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Copyright © 2008-2024 Matt Dralle. All Rights Reserved.
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