Aileron Rebuild

[1938BF50]

Any words of wisdom before I tear into my ailerons for a complete rebuild?

[astjp2]

Re: Aileron Rebuild

Dont damage the spars, you will need the hole locations for your new ones, and you can get legal Verticle grain Clear doug fir from Home Depot. Just peel off the reinforceing plywood and use each one for a pattern and take lots of pictures. You will need to slide on the ribs before gluing on the reinforcements on the outboard hinges. Its a real time consuming job! Tim

[Guest]

Re: Aileron Rebuild

Put them on the wing for a test fit and make "final" adjustments before you nail everyting in place so you get the trailing edge alignment that you want.

[Ragwing nut]

Re: Aileron Rebuild

They take a bunch of time to rebuild, lots of parts. A trick I like to do is cover the cutouts with fabric before covering the ailerons and then bolt the brackets on. Makes for a very clean job.

Mike

[mhorowit]

Re: Aileron Rebuild

See the restoration at http://journals.aol.com/mulwyk1/taylorcraftproject
- if you have to replace spars, note that the edges taper; take that into account when you order stock
- label the ribs with respect to spar and leading edge. I'm having the devil of a time trying to re-use the holes in both the leading edge and the ribs.
- Buy a cleco tool and 50 clecos
- it helps if you have access to a wood shop i.e. craft shop on a military base
- lay the old spar over the new to get the holes in the correct places.
- order stainless PK screws
- feel free to ask the group lots of questions; especially when some screws won't budge!
- get an IA to inspect the uncovered aileron. There may be splits in the wood in places you didn't expect.
- don't throw any part away until the airplane is flying. I've almost thrown rusted parts out only to need them later as a template.
- you may need spacers when nailing the ribs to the spar.
- search for posts by me; I asked a million questions and that may be the easiest way to get an answer; I'm a FAQ maker!
- when you run out of enthusiasm, remember, we're here and will drink a beer with you, commiserate and after an appropriate amount of time has elapsed, make you feel guilty so you get back to work
- did I mention, ask lots of questions? - MikeH

[1938BF50]

Re: Aileron Rebuild

Thanx guys!

Merry Christmas to all!