Rudder Return Springs

[fastj22]

For the life of me, I don't see the value of the springs. In flight, they really don't provide any value. Flutter dampening? On the ground, they also don't give much if any centering force.
And they were a pain the butt to install.
But I wouldn't not install them without consulting Sonex.

[Area 51%]

For those of you that actually use the springs, did you heat the ends and remove the temper to bend them into shape?

[Bryan Cotton]

I used mine for another purpose. I just bent the loop over, no heat.

[Area 51%]

The loop doesn't present the same challenge as the other end. Straightening a couple of inches of tempered wire is the problem child.

[radfordc]

For the life of me, I don't see the value of the springs. In flight, they really don't provide any value. Flutter dampening? On the ground, they also don't give much if any centering force.
And they were a pain the butt to install.
But I wouldn't not install them without consulting Sonex.

When one of mine broke I removed them....didn't consult anyone. They serve no purpose that I can see.

[Rynoth]

I don't remember making them very much shorter. My take was that the only reason for the springs is to take up slack in the cables to keep them from binding up or knocking around in the aft fuselage. As long as there was enough spring tension to keep a little bit of tug on the cable when the pedal is pressed to the stop and then released, I was happy.