Left handed ball links?

[Paul Taylor]

Anyone know if they make them?

[Tom Niebuhr]

Tom Morris has L/H and R/H titanium rod ends. The L/H end has a hex surface for a small wrench. This allows easy push rod adjustment. Just twist the rod like a turn buckle.

[W.D. Roland]

Try This
http://www.clcentral.com/

http://www.clcentral.com/categories.asp

For some reason I keep missing this page when looking for it

COOL page
http://www.clcentral.com/prodimages/CLC_controls_chart.pdf

[Paul Taylor]

I got an email from Jim a CLC and he explained that the ball links will work. They are not really threaded although when you look in the end you see a few.

Tonight I make a flap push rod turn-buckle style!

[Rafael Gonzalez]

R/C trucks have LH and RH ball links and rod ends for their steering. They are heavy duty. I have used the rod/ball combination and cut it in half to use in a push rod. Roughen it up, JB weld it and it makes a fantastic push rod.

[Bill Little]

I got an email from Jim a CLC and he explained that the ball links will work.

Paul did you have a doubt that they would "work"

Odd to use a "turnbuckle" on the flap push rod, only on the elevator is it needed, right?

Big Bear

[Paul Taylor]

Yea I thought about that Bill, but then you have to remember that I can measure something three times and it is still too short.
So just in case I have to cut a small hole in the fuse and adjust I can.

[Balsa Butcher]

I keep my left handed ball links in my storage cabinet...right next to my bottle of "Prop Wash" and in the same drawer as my spool of "Flight Line".  

[Bill Little]

Yea I thought about that Bill, but then you have to remember that I can measure something three times and it is still too short.
So just in case I have to cut a small hole in the fuse and adjust I can.

I guess......  

I have never had the need to adjust the flap push rod, only the elevator one.  Sometimes the elevator needs movement one way or the other when trimming, but not the flaps in my case, anyway. 

With ball links on both ends of the flap push rod, I can easily be with in 1/8" or a little more and still make it up without bottoming out the threads.  I cheat a touch "short" on the flap rod just so if I mess up, I can still extend it a good way.  To set neutral on the flaps I mark the rod with a Sharpie then mark the sheeting at the full travel both ways. Then I measure and mark the center of those two marks on the rod and sheeting to find the middle of the travel.  I use a different color Sharpie to make the center mark!   I can easily set neutral after every thing is sheeted that way.  Make sense?

Big Bear

[W.D. Roland]

Adjustable length flap push rod is for changing linkage geometry buy changing the bell crank position for changing
Up/ Down ratios of control movement.
Access is needed to play with this adjustment!

David

[Bill Little]

Adjustable length flap push rod is for changing linkage geometry buy changing the bell crank position for changing
Up/ Down ratios of control movement.
Access is needed to play with this adjustment!

David

huh?



Bill

[Paul Taylor]

  To set neutral on the flaps I mark the rod with a Sharpie then mark the sheeting at the full travel both ways. Then I measure and mark the center of those two marks on the rod and sheeting to find the middle of the travel.  I use a different color Sharpie to make the center mark!   I can easily set neutral after every thing is sheeted that way.  Make sense?

Big Bear

What a great tip!!! I will steal this idea fer sure!!!

Thanks Bill

[W.D. Roland]

huh?



Bill

Hey Bill
I speak better with drawing than words but will try it with a few word thingies.

If the control geometry gives equal amount of up and down travel with the bellcrank pushrod attachment arm 90deg to the center line of fuselage, call this the 'normal ' position for lack of better word.
picture all this with the front line being the up line and the bellcrank pushrod arm pointing outboard.

Now lengthen the push rod and picture the bellcrank position NOT the flap or elevator changing position.
The bellcrank output arm is moved to a forward position from normal in the arc it travels in.

This puts things in position so that due to the arc the same degree of bellcrank movement will give less up elevator
and more down. 

>>>>>When the bellcrank out put arm is in this forward position at neutral (control surface and handle) then
during up movement the pushrod is moved side ways more than fore and aft compared to the down side movement.

If all linkage ratios in the control system are 1 to 1  then lengthening the push rod to place the the bell crank arm 10deg forward from 'normal'  we then will have 10deg less up travel and 10deg more down travel.
This is actually not completely true but easy to picture.

The sensitivity to up and down will also be different.

The push rod length change also requires the handle to be adjusted.


I will read this later when awake and not being chased by work and then probably laugh at myself and make a drawing or 2.


These  are handy for describing arcs and measuring and reproducing exact lengths for playing with the control system geometry.

Back to work I gota go. Why in hell? I do not know!


David



 

[Bill Little]

I see what you are saying there, David.  Don't think I have ever had a need to do that, myself, though.  I have changed the length of the elevator pushrod in trimming though.  Which appears to have a similar, though probably not exactly the same, effect.  But it does give a different control response in which ever direction you needed.

Make sense?

Big Bear

[W.D. Roland]

Yes Bill
Seems to me that adjusting differential movement to even turns inside and outside the adjustment of flaps and elevator together makes sense.

I can see extremes where a lot of flap movement in one direction may a problem.


 

David