Arthur_Foyt

I watches a few of his in-cockpit videos.
The elevator tips are REALLY vibrating a lot during the routine!
I cannot believe that these weights simply screw in with no lock-tite, no compression washers, no safety wire, no retainers of any kind. No way that these coarse threaded weights would stay put just on their own under extreme vibrations.

2 replies

skylor

Those screws aren’t weights, they are just aluminum plugs that allowed for addition and removal of lead shot into the counter-ballences. Nevertheless, a screw without a locking feature in an area that can cause a control surface to jam is not a good thing!

rpstrong

… simply screw in with no lock-tite,

I read somewhere that Loctite was required for this conversion, but that it was unavailable when the plane was trimmed for the ferry flight.

1 reply

Tailwind14855

Lead shot?? I would like to se a demonstration of pouring lead shot into a horizontal cavity.
The more significant issue is changeing the weight of a counterweight. Improper balancing of a control surface has killed a lot of people over the years.

jfphelan

Unavailable or Get-There-Itis? Loctite is available at every Home Depot, Lowes and hardware store that I have ever been in. And if it’s critically important, one would think there would be an ample supply in the hangar, as in back-ups for the back-ups.

n8274k

You expect flight controls to be as “free and correct” when you land as when you take off. Whether or not this cap was the cause of his accident or not remains to be seen, but all of us need to be aware af the risks that come from flight control jamming including the havoc a $1 plastic water bottle can wreak when it gets jammed behind a rudder pedal.

RonLee

There is a possibility that his negligence was the primary reason for the events that led to his death. As noted already, a version of locktite or safety wire or similar method to prevent that plug from coming out was probably prudent. Then you have to wonder how much it would back out on a non-aerobatic flight from his home airport to Langley. Did he even pre-flight that plug?

Tailwind14855

IF an expert decided that the variable weight was acceptable, here is a proper way to do it: A stud welded to a washer epoxied into the outboard portion of the elevator counterweight area. Formed lead weight with a hole thru the center. Lead slides over the stud and a lock nut and washer. Cover the access with a piece of tape.
There were several loose screws involved, two of them on the airplane.

jwzumwalt

When such a small thing can mean so much, it makes me wonder about all the fittings that folks are mounting their external cameras on!!!