REFLECTOR:Aileron Tubing

[Jim Agnew]

The problem is not the torsional strength of the AL tubes. 
The tubes do not truly rotate, they swing thru an arc which
will allow them to bow and absorb the torsional motion.

On a lot of the 173's (mine included) you could hold the
aileron with two fingers and move the stick full range!! 
This resulted in non-linear aileron action and required
more & more stick input to get the same reaction.

Replacing the aileron torque tubes with SS helps, however,
for a complete fix you need to replace all of the tubing. 
The SS tubing may be closer tolerance on the inside
dimensions and require you reaming the tub to fit the
connectors or bell cranks.

This is personal experience on a flying plane.

Jim

--- KeithHallsten <KeithHallsten@quiknet.com> wrote:
> The standard tubing is alloy 6061, with a T-6 heat
> treatment.  As Dennis mentioned, several builders have
> gone to a thin-wall stainless steel tubing, which is
> stiffer than the aluminum.  Many other builders used the
> aluminum tubing, with no adverse handling qualities
> noted.  I'm not flying yet, but after considering the
> discussion, I'm going to get the plane flying with the
> aluminum aileron torque tubes.  If there seems to be a
> problem, it's not that big of a deal to swap the tubes
> out later.
> 
> Keith Hallsten, XLFG
> Roseville, CA
>   ----- Original Message ----- 
>   From: Joe 
>   To: reflector@tvbf.org 
>   Sent: Monday, May 31, 2004 3:44 PM
>   Subject: REFLECTOR:Aileron Tubing
> 
> 
>   The kit I bought was missing several items, including
> the tubing for the aileron torque tubes.  Does anyone
> know the grade aluminum being used?
> 
>   Thanks,
>   Joe


=====
James F. Agnew
Jim_Agnew_2@Yahoo.Com
Tampa, FL
Velocity 173 Elite Aircraft Completed & Flying