Control column mounting.

[Allen B]

I’m getting ready to mount the control column. I’ve read the warnings to make sure the aileron cables are in line with the pulleys on the side of the aircraft. Is there anything else I should be aware of? From all the posts I’ve looked up it seems people just mount the control column as close forward to the edge of the tabs as possible. I don’t have a set of plans. Is there something else I should be noticing prior to drill these holes? Thanks.

[FFTravism]

I first drilled them as far forward as I could. But once I ran string through the pulley it was not straight and I was afraid it would side load the pulley. I moved it back to the middle of the tabs and it looks much better. The first picture is where I put it first and the second one is more of the flap handle but you can see I moved it back. If you do move back remember you have to get a socket on the nut. Or at least a box end wrench. Third picture is the plans.
Travis

[Allen B]

That’s pretty much what I was afraid of. I don’t want to the aileron cables to be off center in the pulleys. That should be a simple thing to align. I remember reading somewhere about also needing to align the control column for the elevator cables? Is this something you dealt with? Thanks so much for the help.

[FFTravism]

I temporarily installed the Aileron Bell Crank first so I could verify both would align.
Travis

[500AGL]

Center on the fuselage tabs is good. Take a moment to align/center the hinge weldment on the control stick assembly so that it doesn’t side load the torque tube. To better explain, it’s not hard to fasten these down in a way that creates some side friction at the stick assembly hinges. This will not “wear in”, but will add to any other friction points that perhaps are assembled a touch too tight in the system and can lead to heavy stick forces.

A good rule of thumb during assembly is even if something is going to come out again, fasten it securely and verify a nice smooth operation before moving on to the next task. Things can change when simply going from bolts hand tight to wrench tight.

[FFTravism]

Things can change when simply going from bolts hand tight to wrench tight.

This is 100% right. Seems a bunch kits noticed on the rudder pedal assembly as soon as you tighten it down the movement of the pedals are stiff.
Travis

[Astro John]

I first drilled them as far forward as I could. But once I ran string through the pulley it was not straight and I was afraid it would side load the pulley. I moved it back to the middle of the tabs and it looks much better. The first picture is where I put it first and the second one is more of the flap handle but you can see I moved it back. If you do move back remember you have to get a socket on the nut. Or at least a box end wrench. Third picture is the plans.
Travis

Just curious how you moved them? Did you create slots on the tabs or new holes?

[FFTravism]

New holes. I had just enough room..

[Allen B]

I haven’t drilled the holes yet but I dry fitted them with the control column pushrod and the lower fuselage pulleys. So far they seem to be pretty well aligned. I used twine to connect the pushrod to the pulleys and it was dead centered. I’ll upload a pic once I get it all done.

[Battson]

I would add, avoid reaming (or heaven-forbit drilling) out the control stick attachment holes - you want everything in this assembly to be a super snug fit, requiring lots of lubrication to assemble. If it's loose, you get a large sloppy dead-zone in your control sticks, which is worth avoiding if you can.