EAA Experimenter 37
Rod End Bearing Installation
Brian Carpenter from Rainbow Aviation Services provides tips on the installation of rod end bearings.
Cutting Dacron sailcloth
Brian also shows how to cut dacron sailcloth by modifying a soldering iron into a hot knife.
Cable End treatment
Next, Brian demonstrates a way to permanently eliminate frayed cable ends.
Balancing Your Propeller
Here's a hint that everyone can useā¦Brian shows us an easy and effective way to balance a propeller.
HINTS FOR HOMEBUILDERS VIDEOS
HERE'S SOME OF THE MORE RECENT VIDEOS ADDED TO EAA'S CADRE OF MORE THAN 400 HOMEBUILDER HINTS VIDEOS:
sure the wind wasn't af ecting the machine. We landed so I
could check out the machine to see what the problem might be.
After landing, I looked over the chute lines and risers, and
again, everything seemed fi ne. The next day, a couple of other
pilots helped me check out the machine and chute. We even
turned the chute over so we could check out the top. Noth-
ing appeared wrong with the chute. We checked out the cart,
grabbed and shook each tube like I do when I pre-
fl ight, and could fi nd nothing wrong. Since the winds
were up the next couple of days, I decided not to test-
fl y it again until I got it home and had time to look
over the machine one more time.
When we got back home, and while I was un-
strapping my machine in the trailer, I noticed a small
piece of metal sitting on the fl oor under my machine.
My wife and I started looking to see where the metal
could have come from, and she noticed a cracked
U-bracket on one of the diagonal tubes. We checked
the other side and found that the metal piece had
come from that U-bracket. When not under load, the
bracket was around the bolt and didn't move. When
under load in fl ight, the bracket moved away from
the bolt and allowed the machine to fl ex enough
to make the engine thrust to cause the turn. After
checking over every bracket on the machine, I found
two more brackets that were cracked. They were all
the aluminum ones that came with the machine orig-
inally. After fi nding this, I called a friend who owns
another Destiny 2000 of similar age. He found that
the same brackets were cracked on his machine, and
he also found others that were deformed or cracked.
I recommend anyone who owns a similar Destiny
machine to take a close look at all of the brackets on his
machine. After 15 years, vibration and stresses of flight can
and will take a toll on parts. As in my case, a normal pre-
flight might not catch this problem. If something doesn't
seem normal, there is a reason. Don't stop looking until you
find the problem!
The fatigued brackets.
Photography courtesy of Sean Curry