Friday, October 28, 2016

Section: 33
Hours: 4

Assembling the break pedals to the rudder pedal frames was a fiddly job. I played around with different combinations of washers trying to get a snug but freely moving fit. After a couple hours of trial and error, I stumbled on the solution. The fit is dependent on how well the break pedal mounting tabs were welded and aligned to the frame. The manual suggests using a soft mallet to beat the tabs into submission but I quickly discovered that was a rather brut force method. I ended up using my duck bill pliers which yielded a more repeatable result. I used a square and the pliers to bend the tabs to close to the required 90 degree angle to the frame and then tested the fit to the brake pedal. If it was too loose or tight, I made slight adjustments with the pliers until the friction / fit was perfect. I ended up using the same combination of washers for all the pedals and they all now freely move with gravity with little wobble.

To assemble the pedals I figured out the following method worked really well:

• Slide the bolts into the tab holes and add the washers.
• Then slide the pedal between the washers until it just touched the bolts. If the fit is obviously too tight or loose, adjust the tabs with the pliers.
• Next slide the bolts out just enough to hold the washers in place and move the pedals in until you can slide the bolts though.

I wish I had figured out this method several hours ago...

Here's how I bent the cotter pin to hold the castle nut secure.

I didn't have any Aeroshell #5 grease so I substituted this grease for lubricating the bearing surfaces of the bolts.

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