Tailwheel rod bracket

[Ad Eves]

Hi Folks

The tailwheel on my Sonex has quite a bit of rotational play in the top rod bracket, even with a new top bolt. I'm assuming that the through-bolt hole in the steel fuselage fitting has worn oversize. My question is, can this fitting be removed from the fuselage without de-riveting or is there another fix for this if it's a common problem?

Regards

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[racaldwell]

Taper pin will fix a sloppy bolt hole. If the hole centerline is aligned with the skin hole, then you could taper ream it from the bottom and have the pin nut on the top. I would do that before drilling out all those rivets.

Rick Caldwell
Xenos 0057
Taper pins instead of bolts

[Bryan Cotton]

Check out the saddle clamp in my thread.
viewtopic.php?f=39&t=578&start=390

Also I bonded my tail spring into the socket. That would help as well.

[Ad Eves]

Thanks Both

Yes the hole is aligned so I guess the taper pin is the easiest option and like the idea of taper pins generally in that sort of application where a bolt seems doomed to be sloppy. I’ve never used them so will try to figure out what I need.

Regards

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[Sonex1517]

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There is an article about taper pins here

http://www.sonexfoundation.com/uploads/ ... lation.pdf

Though the size is different it may be helpful

[Bryan Cotton]

The one scary thing about that idea is you have to make the taper in a solid piece of Ti. Also you will be doing it freehand and not on a drill press.

Is a taper pin a good idea, Ti aside, considering one piece is solid and one is a tube? You are never going to be able to draw the pin in further than the solid piece will let you, which makes it hard to draw tight into the tube.

[bvolcko38]

Are you guys using the good bit for drilling your holes? Step drilling?
I used double margin drill bits on all my critical holes. Double margin or stove burner bits drill a nice round hole.
I would also leave the shank of the smaller bit in the hole while updrilling. That would lock the two pieces together and prevent movement and missalignment.

[Ad Eves]

Thanks all for the replies. I'm going to try bonding it in with Hysol first and see how that works before considering the taper pin approach.
Regards
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[racaldwell]

This past Sunday I drilled 3/16" hole with a carbide bit by hand using the Drill Rite Guide for my Flyboys tailwheel socket. Then I updrilled to 13/64" with a regular drill bit. Then I reamed the hole with a #1 taper pin reamer using my variable speed pneumatic drill. I went slow and used lots of cutting fluid. I also let things cool periodically. All came out fine. I now have a vertically installed taper pin located 1" down on the socket. The taper pin on the upper end was done on the mini-mill a few months ago.

I did the same thing years ago on my One Design tailwheel. No problems with it loosening. I also had a taper pin on the One Design elevator trim tab torque tube that was originally a bolt. It would get loose after a few years so I would ream a little on it and re-set the taper pin. Then it was tight again. It would loosen because of the thin walled tube used. This shouldn't be a problem with the thick walled tailwheel socket. My experience is that taper pins stay tight longer than bolts in torque tube type applications.

Rick Caldwell
Xenos 0057