People are questioning me: "I will be doing this somewhat reluctantly as the aileron is perfectly straight and in like brand new condition - it seems criminal to bend it. QUESTION - even though it does not appear to be the recommended procedure - has anyone out there riveted a trim tab to the trailing edge of the aileron instead of bending it???????"
Yes, lots of people have riveted trim tabs to the trailing edges
of
ailerons. No, this is NOT the recommended procedure. There is no
advantage of doing things this way. All you do is induce more drag, add
a little weight, and add something that can snag people as they walk
around the airplane. After we bent the trailing edge of my aileron you
would never know it by looking at it. You bend it a VERY tiny amount
all the way along the trailing edge. It is amazing what a little
bending will do. As a matter of fact, we had to bring it back some
after the first attempt because we had done too much. I'll bet we wound
up with about .050" bend altogether. Bend a tiny amount, test fly it,
and repeat if necessary. To quote from page 27 of the Ercoupe Service
Manual:
"If wing heaviness exists on test flight, double check steps
outlined
above for misalignment.
"If wing heaviness exists with controls properly aligned, extreme
trailing edge of aileron (flat section containing rivets) may be used as
fixed trim tab and bent with suitable metal bending pliers. Bending
must begin at outboard end of aileron _opposite_ heavy wing, and bending
must be _downward_. Amount of bending and length of area bent varies
with amount of wing heaviness present. Slight bend over great length is
preferable to pronounced bend over lesser length. It has been determined
that wing heaviness necessitating 5 degress defelction of control wheel
from neutral to hol airplane on course in flight can be corrected by
3/16 inch downward bend for full length of trailing edge."
Why use a bad procedure when a good (and approved) procedure works
fine?
Sorry if I'm getting a little harsh. I don't mean to be.
Syd Cohen
NC94196
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