Rudder Return Springs

[142YX]

How much did you shorten your rudder pedal return springs? Per the plans they are too long, and the instructions are given to shorten as necessary to center the pedals.

Can anyone remember a ballpark length? Bending that steel spring is very laborious and tedious.. any time saved in this step would be very much appreciated!

[MichaelFarley56]

To be honest I think I took one and cut it in half and used the halves as the springs. I figured that way I would also have a spare spring, but its been a while. I think my goal was to have just a little spring tension when the rudder bars were centered.

It will probably be more of a personal feel thing...set them where you want!

[142YX]

I ended up making them just about half the length that they are shown in the plans, and stopped making them any shorter because i felt like they were at the point where they would permanently deform during installation if they got any shorter. Even though there is very little if any stiction in my rudder circuit they still don't actively center the pedals though, (push one pedal in and it does not always return to center again automatically) but they are strong enough so that if the opposing pedal is pulled out, the opposite pedal will travel to the full forward stop on its own. Is this the behavior people are seeing in their rudder pedals? Or were you able to get yours to spring right back to center un-assisted?

[MichaelFarley56]

I'm pretty sure mine are about the same as yours. When you're in flight the rudder will naturally center so it's no big deal. For a while I was considering not installing those springs at all after looking at a Vans RV-6a in the hangar next to mine. They don't have any kind of spring so the only tension on the cables is when your feet are sitting on the pedals.

As long as there's some degree of tension I'm sure you're fine!

[radfordc]

One of my springs broke about 5 years ago. I just took the other one out and fly without them. The only thing they seem to accomplish is keeping slack out of the rudder cables when no one is in the cockpit. No very important to me.

[Gibbsfamily1]

I never used them and never had any issues.

[fastj22]

I don't think they provide any useful value.

[radfordc]

Rudder springs! We don't need no stinkin' rudder springs!

[GordonTurner]

Sitting in a plane, not my unfinished waiex which doesn't have a seat yet...do the springs serve any function if one of the rudder cables were to break?

[Bryan Cotton]

Nope!