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Rigging yoke

So its a bit like a steering wheel – you can find everything lined up, or wings level and the yoke not level. Inaccurate rigging I know.

How do you feel about it and does it make any difference to you whether flying the aircraft in VMC or IMC?

I don’t pay attention to it although it’s nice when it’s ok. I mean if it’s slightly inaccurate who cares. VMC – horizon is what matterrs, in IMC – AI.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

Personally I would pay a lot of attention to that, because if an “engineer” returns an aircraft to service with a defect so blindingly obvious that the driver of a 2CV would spot it, one wonders what else has been bodged.

Also it could be due to a bent linkage, by monkey handling, a collision in the hangar, or by wind (or the propwash from another aircraft doing its power checks against the back of this one) whacking the control surfaces against the stops.

I once made this point to an EASA66 guy after I got my plane back from an Annual, with a sticking yoke which made a funny noise. It was just the yoke tube not being spray-lubed (Fluid 1 or whatever). I said that if I was him I would skimp on the bits which the customer can’t see. He apologised… Same company which put the made-in-Brighton-no-name motorbike lube into the elevator linkage, which froze at -14C. Fuji will know the firm…

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Yeh – I know that is of course the simple answer :-) Emir.

I suppose what I was getting at is do you ever find it slightly disconcerting or do you find it a complete irrelevance?

If it were your own aircraft would you go to the bother of having anything done about it – or not?

and do you find it any more or less disconcerting in VMC or IMC or nothing in it!

Interstingly I am sure I have seen the same thing with a stick but you notice it far less.

Last Edited by Fuji_Abound at 12 Jun 13:34

If this happened suddenly on my aircraft, I would have it investigated and fixed before any further flight. On somebody else’s, I would not fly it or in it – for the reasons I posted.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

Now, reading Peter’s explanation and having in mind my recent experience, I would bother to have it corrected. In general I don’t see a difference between VMC and IMC I don’t look at youke/stick – I monitor aircraft attitude and reactions.

LDZA LDVA, Croatia

I’ve found it takes a couple of test flights and tweaks to get the yoke/stick centered. The ailerons tend to fly up slightly different amounts due to fixed trim tab deflection and that sort of thing. Much easier to tweak it iteratively.

I suggest that you determine the required aileron travel, and assure that the aircraft has those travels – it may not, and you may not have full control anymore. If it a 100 series Cessna, most likely you have a bent aileron pushrod. Been there, had that. It is the result of using the control wheel control lock where the ailerons should have been locked at the trailing edges. You will have a drooped aileron, which is awesome for STOL operations, but probably means you have lost travel too. If the ailerons don’t line up with the adjacent trailing edges, with the control wheel centered, get it fixed

Home runway, in central Ontario, Canada, Canada
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