That wing strut bolt was one of the changes in the early-production Series 5 kits that raised MGW from 1,400# to 1,550#. It changed from an AN4 (76,000psi shear) to an NAS1104 (95,000psi shear).
Lift Strut Hardware.jpg
Eric Page
Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
Map of Landings
This has been addressed. I have reworked the design to an all carbon fiber body with a delrin inlay to allow for minimal friction between the control shaft and the bearing itself. This thread was more intended to get people thinking about that little lynch pin in the design of some of these planes. The older builds most likely still contain that brittle plastic piece and it should be addressed sooner than later by the owner.
Thus was a great post no doubt! It’s awesome to see everyone’s innovative ideas.
They make that plastic in white which is a virgin plastic, and in black which i believe is the recycled plastic. The white is slippery er than the black, but the sun will eat at the white and make it very brittle and cracks very easy. The black doesn't get attacked by the sun as bad, so last alot longer.
We use 4x8 sheets of white to cover the inside of the hopper on the gold plant to keep dirt from stickin and also on the bottom of our skis. Have never tried the black on those places
Could you be a bit more specific? "Plastic" is a rather vague terms since there are numerous types (White mentioned in this conversation is most likely teflon whereas black is delrin and the material properties between the two are not alike). Polyethene has also been mentioned here so a bit more information about the material you're mentioning would be useful.
Here’s the update for the base portion of the bearing. You can see the ridge that allows for delrin bearing retention and the foam of the ridge allows for 60 thou diametric gap between the ridge and the control tube to ensure all contact with the tube is through the delrin only.
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