Flying wires

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KevinC
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Flying wires

Post by KevinC »

I am just about to start on the empennage flying wires.  The manual is pretty sketchy on this, and I am wondering what procedures others have used.  How do you get the lenght & tension correct?

thanks

Kevin
DaveU
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Post by DaveU »

Kevin,
I had the horizontal and the verticle aligned by using ratchet straps and clamps.  I then made one end of the cable up with the thimble, and crimped the nicopress sleeve.  I then put 2 pieces of shrink wrap over the cable and shrunk the one on the finished end.  I then put the thimble and sleeve for the other end in place and pulled the cable tight.  I marked a line with a fine tip sharpie across both cables.  I then took that end off the plane and lined up the marks and crimped the nicopress.  This allows you to get the length exactly like you measured it, and dont have to fight the tool in the cramped corner of the bottom of the plane.

The manual speaks of putting 2 or 3 washers under the wire tab.  This is a good idea, it leaves some adjustment to snug them up when final assembly comes around.

I had a hard time cutting the cable with a cable cutter.  I ended up using a cold chisel on a metal block that I had around.  This gives a nice clean cut and no $50 cutter needed.
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dauckjl
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Wires

Post by dauckjl »

Hey guys,
 We were using the chisel on the metal block for a while and it works pretty good.  Later on we were told to wrap where you want to cut in electrical tape and then use a Dremel to cut the cable and simply peel the tape off.  The tape keeps the tips clean and together and you don't get little pieces of wire flying toward your eyes when cutting with the Dremel.

 We also began using a product called "Rescue Tape" rather than shrink tubing.  It just wraps on to the cable blow the ferrule and you don't have to torch it.  It is at http://www.rescuetape.com/

Justin
DaveU
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Post by DaveU »

Rescue Tape.  I am willing to wager that the same lady at Oshkosh sold that tape to you, that sold it to me.  I am a sucker for a good pitch, especially from an attractive female.  One guy in our Eaa chapter has bought tape from her every year (actually 3 years in a row now), and he hasn't even used it yet.

I think it is great stuff, but probably would have bought it even if it weren't
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dauckjl
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Re: Wires

Post by dauckjl »

Yeah we bought it at Oshkosh.  We have used quite a bit of it already too.  We got sick of little stray pieces of wire poking through the shrink tubing and sometimes we just forgot to put a piece of tubing on before we crimped it.  We even went back and put it over the shrink tubing on ones that were done.  It is a little pricey though and one does get a better deal at OSH than buying it off the website.

Justin
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KevinC
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Flying wires

Post by KevinC »

Last night I did the first cables - rudder.  I used the dremel/electrical tape method for cutting as I don't have a cable cutter.  Getting the cable back through the nicopress fitting was VERY difficult.  Eventually I was able to jam the end through, but only after much cursing and punctured fingers.  Is there a trick to this?

thanks all!

Kevin
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dauckjl
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Flying Wires

Post by dauckjl »

Hey Kevin,

The only trick that I ever figured was to leave the electrical tape on until the moment you are ready to put it in the sleeve.  The longer that you leave the tape on, the less likely it is to spread on the ends and give you a nightmare trying to get the sleeve on.

That is about the only trick I can think of.  It can be a pain to get them through with out stray wires poking everywhere.

Justin
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KevinC
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easy nicopress fitting tip

Post by KevinC »

ok - I'm sure all the 'old salts' here have figured this out... but for those new to handling the cable & nicopress sleeves, here's how I figured out how to do it without too much grief.

first - I tried both the Dremel and cold chisel method.  Both work well, chisel is faster.
second - the other night I decided to fight with the flying wires a bit and couldn't find the electrical tape.  All I could find was the blue 3M painters tape.  Figuring it would not work, I just grabbed a chunk, laid the cable in the bottom of it, folded it in half and cut off all but about 1/32" with a razor blade.  I rolled it with my fingers the same direction as the cable twist.  Much to my surprise, it popped through the nicopress sleeve with total ease.

FWIW

Kevin
b1x4nqb
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Flying wires

Post by b1x4nqb »

Did my flying wires today. I tried the dremel method at first but it took too much time.  I reached for the safety wire plyers and they cut right through with two bites.  No frayed ends, etc.  I carefully pressed the end of the cable into the nicopress and wala, it worked.  I did puncture my fingers at first though, maybe 4 or 5 times and I cursed a bit.  

Paul
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alan
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Post by alan »

Hey guys,

I talked to Jamie a couple months ago about the cables and fittings corroding. He mentioned that a Kolb builder, using the same galvinized cables and the shrink wrap, died when one of his tail wires broke because the shrink wrap trapped water, causing the wire to corrode faster and fail.
Ouch! Even if you don't replace the galvanized cables with stainless, just cut off the end of the cable as close as possible to the nicopress connector.

Alan
If I had known I would live this long I would have taken better care of myself.
scubarider
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?

Post by scubarider »

Wasn't someone talking about the adjustable stainless rods in place of the cables???  Man, I would love to have those.  Anyone with any ideas?
Dennis
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KevinC
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stainless rod replacement for flying wires

Post by KevinC »

I saw this on an Escapade the dealer from LaGrande, OR (http://www.aerocomppca.com/index.htm) was building.  Deserves some consideration, I think.

K


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scubarider
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Thanks

Post by scubarider »

Thanks Kevin.  I will email them and let everyone know.
Dennis
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KevinC
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Corrosion in the flying wires

Post by KevinC »

Thinking about this today - I think that would make it even better idea to use rescue tape instead of shrink-tube and then make it an annual condition inspection item (at least until one gets around to fabricating something better).  My first thought was to fill the little void at the top of the shrink tube with silicone sealant, but I like the annual inspection idea better.

fwiw

k
scubarider
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Talked to Troy

Post by scubarider »

Talked to Troy about the wires and the idea of have the stainless rods instead of the wires.  He didn't like the idea.  He said the wires are meant to give alittle and the rods would not.  He said you are asking for trouble and have to replace items when that happens.  Soooooo, will stay with the wires and keep a close eye on them.  I looked at the Escapade Troy has and they seem fine.  
Dennis
Living life on the edge makes me dizzy.  I love Dizzy!
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