Stiff rudder

[Steve Freeman]

My SZD 55 has a very stiff rudder. When the cables are disconnected it
moves easily. One suggestion has been that maybe the tubes the cables
ride in are full of dirt and contaminants and that cleaning them will
solve the problem. I remembered reading about someone replacing their
cables with a smaller diameter cable but could not find anything in
the archives. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem?

[Mike the Strike]

On Apr 14, 6:49*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:
> My SZD 55 has a very stiff rudder. When the cables are disconnected it
> moves easily. One suggestion has been that maybe the tubes the cables
> ride in are full of dirt and contaminants and that cleaning them will
> solve the problem. I remembered reading about someone replacing their
> cables with a smaller diameter cable but could not find anything in
> the archives. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem?

Years ago, when I had a Jantar 1, I accidentally drove a screw through
the rudder cable tube in the cockpit when installing a microphone. We
removed the rudder cables to check for damage and found I had severed
several strands. More interesting, we also found that the factory had
done the same thing and I'd been flying with several strands missing.

I suggest that you remove the cables and check for damage. If the
tube isn't damaged, it might be pinched. I believe mine is not the
only report of this problem.

Mike

[[email protected]]

On Apr 14, 9:06*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
> On Apr 14, 6:49*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:
>
> > My SZD 55 has a very stiff rudder. When the cables are disconnected it
> > moves easily. One suggestion has been that maybe the tubes the cables
> > ride in are full of dirt and contaminants and that cleaning them will
> > solve the problem. I remembered reading about someone replacing their
> > cables with a smaller diameter cable but could not find anything in
> > the archives. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem?
>
> Years ago, when I had a Jantar 1, I accidentally drove a screw through
> the rudder cable tube in the cockpit when installing a microphone. *We
> removed the rudder cables to check for damage and found I had severed
> several strands. *More interesting, we also found that the factory had
> done the same thing *and I'd been flying with several strands missing.
>
> I suggest that you remove the cables and check for damage. *If the
> tube isn't damaged, it might be pinched. *I believe mine is not the
> only report of this problem.
>
> Mike

You should be able to determine if it's only one side that's tight.
Disconnect the cables from the rudder and get a helper to slide the
cables one at a time forward and aft.

[Mike the Strike]

On Apr 14, 7:29*am, wrote:
> On Apr 14, 9:06*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Apr 14, 6:49*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:
>
> > > My SZD 55 has a very stiff rudder. When the cables are disconnected it
> > > moves easily. One suggestion has been that maybe the tubes the cables
> > > ride in are full of dirt and contaminants and that cleaning them will
> > > solve the problem. I remembered reading about someone replacing their
> > > cables with a smaller diameter cable but could not find anything in
> > > the archives. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem?
>
> > Years ago, when I had a Jantar 1, I accidentally drove a screw through
> > the rudder cable tube in the cockpit when installing a microphone. *We
> > removed the rudder cables to check for damage and found I had severed
> > several strands. *More interesting, we also found that the factory had
> > done the same thing *and I'd been flying with several strands missing..
>
> > I suggest that you remove the cables and check for damage. *If the
> > tube isn't damaged, it might be pinched. *I believe mine is not the
> > only report of this problem.
>
> > Mike
>
> You should be able to determine if it's only one side that's tight.
> Disconnect the cables from the rudder and get a helper to slide the
> cables one at a time forward and aft.

In my case, the bad factory cable was the one I didn't damage. Given
the chance for factory-installed problems, I suggest that you look at
both even if they move freely.

Mike

[Steve Freeman]

On Apr 14, 11:17*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
> On Apr 14, 7:29*am, wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Apr 14, 9:06*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
>
> > > On Apr 14, 6:49*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:
>
> > > > My SZD 55 has a very stiff rudder. When the cables are disconnected it
> > > > moves easily. One suggestion has been that maybe the tubes the cables
> > > > ride in are full of dirt and contaminants and that cleaning them will
> > > > solve the problem. I remembered reading about someone replacing their
> > > > cables with a smaller diameter cable but could not find anything in
> > > > the archives. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem?
>
> > > Years ago, when I had a Jantar 1, I accidentally drove a screw through
> > > the rudder cable tube in the cockpit when installing a microphone. *We
> > > removed the rudder cables to check for damage and found I had severed
> > > several strands. *More interesting, we also found that the factory had
> > > done the same thing *and I'd been flying with several strands missing.
>
> > > I suggest that you remove the cables and check for damage. *If the
> > > tube isn't damaged, it might be pinched. *I believe mine is not the
> > > only report of this problem.
>
> > > Mike
>
> > You should be able to determine if it's only one side that's tight.
> > Disconnect the cables from the rudder and get a helper to slide the
> > cables one at a time forward and aft.
>
> In my case, the bad factory cable was the one I didn't damage. Given
> the chance for factory-installed problems, *I suggest that you look at
> both even if they move freely.
>
> Mike

Short of going back to the factory, what do you suggest for a
replacement cable?

[[email protected]]

On Apr 14, 2:03*pm, Steve Freeman > wrote:
> On Apr 14, 11:17*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Apr 14, 7:29*am, wrote:
>
> > > On Apr 14, 9:06*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
>
> > > > On Apr 14, 6:49*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:
>
> > > > > My SZD 55 has a very stiff rudder. When the cables are disconnected it
> > > > > moves easily. One suggestion has been that maybe the tubes the cables
> > > > > ride in are full of dirt and contaminants and that cleaning them will
> > > > > solve the problem. I remembered reading about someone replacing their
> > > > > cables with a smaller diameter cable but could not find anything in
> > > > > the archives. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem?
>
> > > > Years ago, when I had a Jantar 1, I accidentally drove a screw through
> > > > the rudder cable tube in the cockpit when installing a microphone. *We
> > > > removed the rudder cables to check for damage and found I had severed
> > > > several strands. *More interesting, we also found that the factory had
> > > > done the same thing *and I'd been flying with several strands missing.
>
> > > > I suggest that you remove the cables and check for damage. *If the
> > > > tube isn't damaged, it might be pinched. *I believe mine is not the
> > > > only report of this problem.
>
> > > > Mike
>
> > > You should be able to determine if it's only one side that's tight.
> > > Disconnect the cables from the rudder and get a helper to slide the
> > > cables one at a time forward and aft.
>
> > In my case, the bad factory cable was the one I didn't damage. Given
> > the chance for factory-installed problems, *I suggest that you look at
> > both even if they move freely.
>
> > Mike
>
> Short of going back to the factory, what do you suggest for a
> replacement cable?

Hi Steve

Before you start puling cables out you should try adjusting the
tension. There are turnbuckles near the ruder pedals that can be
adjusted, you might just need to loosen the tension a bit. For
further help may I suggest you contact Jerzy at Windpath, the North
American dealer. Here is a link to his contact info on his web page

http://windpath.ca/common/contactus.asp

Luke

[Uncle Fuzzy]

On Apr 14, 11:03*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:
> On Apr 14, 11:17*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
>
>
>
>
>
> > On Apr 14, 7:29*am, wrote:
>
> > > On Apr 14, 9:06*am, Mike the Strike > wrote:
>
> > > > On Apr 14, 6:49*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:
>
> > > > > My SZD 55 has a very stiff rudder. When the cables are disconnected it
> > > > > moves easily. One suggestion has been that maybe the tubes the cables
> > > > > ride in are full of dirt and contaminants and that cleaning them will
> > > > > solve the problem. I remembered reading about someone replacing their
> > > > > cables with a smaller diameter cable but could not find anything in
> > > > > the archives. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem?
>
> > > > Years ago, when I had a Jantar 1, I accidentally drove a screw through
> > > > the rudder cable tube in the cockpit when installing a microphone. *We
> > > > removed the rudder cables to check for damage and found I had severed
> > > > several strands. *More interesting, we also found that the factory had
> > > > done the same thing *and I'd been flying with several strands missing.
>
> > > > I suggest that you remove the cables and check for damage. *If the
> > > > tube isn't damaged, it might be pinched. *I believe mine is not the
> > > > only report of this problem.
>
> > > > Mike
>
> > > You should be able to determine if it's only one side that's tight.
> > > Disconnect the cables from the rudder and get a helper to slide the
> > > cables one at a time forward and aft.
>
> > In my case, the bad factory cable was the one I didn't damage. Given
> > the chance for factory-installed problems, *I suggest that you look at
> > both even if they move freely.
>
> > Mike
>
> Short of going back to the factory, what do you suggest for a
> replacement cable?- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/appages/controlcable.php

[Bob Kuykendall]

On Apr 14, 11:03*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:

> Short of going back to the factory, what do you suggest for a
> replacement cable?

You'll almost certainly end up cutting one of the terminals off of the
cable in order to get it out of the tunnels.

I don't know what SZD's cable tunnels are like, but if they're not
continuous like mine (that is, the cable goes through discrete
fairleads and the like), you'll want to tape a tag line to the end of
the cable, and later use that tag line to draw the new cable through
the fairleads. If you're sure the tunnels are continuous, you maybe
can just push the new cable through the tunnels.

As you pull the old cable out, you'll want to monitor the friction
that you have to overcome to move the cable. If there's a spot where
it suddenly frees up, stop right there and mark the cable against some
reference point on the fuselage, say the end of the tunnel you're
pulling it out of. You can use that reference mark to lay the cable
against the side of the fuselage; the end of the cable will show the
location of whatever was causing the unusual friction. That might
reveal one of those pesky screws Jim was mentioning.

Once you have the cable in hand, you'll probably find that one end has
an expensive Kearney-swaged stainless steel terminal, and the other
end has a nicopress fitting with a loop around a thimble. The Kearney
swages require a very expensive tool, while the Nicopress fittings can
be applied locally. You can often get Nicopress fittings and tools
from your hardware store.

Your general strategy will probably be to order a length of 7x19 steel
cable with the appropriate Kearney-swaged terminal at one end, pull or
push the blind end through the tunnels, and then swage or have swaged
the Nicopress fitting at the blind end. The cable is probably 1/8" or
thereabouts, or the metric equivalent.

Of course, for a certificated glider you'll want to have this done by
an A&P mechanic, or do it under their direct supervision. For an
experimental glider, review the operating limitations that accompany
the Special Airworthiness Certificate.

Note that FAR §21.303(b)2 allows you to make (but not install) parts
for your own certificated aircraft within relatively narrow
boundaries. To be legal, you'll still have to convince your A&P that
your parts are safe to install. A Don Dodge article on page 20 in the
following edition of FAAviation News offers some guidance and a
cautionary tale regarding owner-produced parts:

http://www.faa.gov/news/aviation_news/2002/media/julyAug2002.pdf

Thanks, Bob K.
http://www.hpaircraft.com/hp-24

[Gary Boggs]

Are you sure someone hasn't slipped wome Viagra into your ballast
tanks???
If it's stiff too long, you might have to call a nurse.

On Apr 14, 6:49*am, Steve Freeman > wrote:
> My SZD 55 has a very stiff rudder. When the cables are disconnected it
> moves easily. One suggestion has been that maybe the tubes the cables
> ride in are full of dirt and contaminants and that cleaning them will
> solve the problem. I remembered reading about someone replacing their
> cables with a smaller diameter cable but could not find anything in
> the archives. Anyone have any experience with this type of problem?