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Brad Wilkinson, Bearhawk #1062
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Date: 10-18-2008
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Number of Hours: 3.00
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Manual Reference:
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Brief Description: Flap Control Handle
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After getting the spring force right, I test fit the flap control handle on the airframe and found a problem.
I had already discovered that the edges of the slot in the plunger tube (the flap-position locking/release button?) and on the flap handle itself were very sharp from the machining at the factory, and had a tendency to scrape the sides of the quadrant - which is aluminum. I didn't like this, so I had taken a file and some emery cloth to the parts and had them pretty smooth. I also noticed that the pin was pretty tight in the notches of the quadrant, so I had filed them out just a little with a 1/4" round file. I did this sometime earlier in the year, before I ordered the correct spring for the handle. A service bulletin came out in June instructing everyone to do just exactly these operations, so I felt good about what I had done.
When I installed the assembly on the airframe during all of this, I noticed that especially at the bottom of the travel ('no flaps') - the handle didn't seem to sit in the notch just right. It wasn't a secure-feeling stop, there was still some scraping along the back edges of the quadrant, and the locking in the notches didn't seem completely secure. It only took a little pressure on the button to release the handle - not a full press.
Investigation of this revealed that the slot in the plunger tube wasn't made correctly. The pin was in the right place, but the slot was about 1/8" too far from the end of the tube, masking the rear of the pin. This allowed the rear of the slot to contact the quadrant, and kept the pin from fully engaging the notch. I took a die grinder and lenghtend the slot to correct this, and everything seems to work much better now.
I contacted Mark Goldberg to alert him and others about this - but I hope no one else had the problem.
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Slot Is Not Positioned Right
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Modified Slot
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Flap Control Handle Installed
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