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How much aileron and rudder cabel to order ???

Alex Clark

Alex Clark

Registered User
Life Long Alaskan
We had a very windy winter. Plus over 9 feet of snow at my house....
So my cables took a beating when my gust locks came off one night and the wind hit the tail and ailerons from the rear.
I think it stretched my cables a little. They were loose anyway....and the tightening drums are maxed out..... So they ahve always been sloppy and needed to be shortened or replaced.

Now it is time for my annual and to put the plane in the water if I can talk my AI into doing the job...

SO.... I need to order some new cables for my J3 - PA-11.... About how much should I order??????
 
Last edited:
I come up with 133 ft being a gracious plenty to do 2 x rudder, 2 x elevator, 2 x aileron to upper horn and 2 x aileron to lower horn. 1/8" 7 x 19 cable. All found on Piper drawing 40123 (-2 through -6) findable on Christian Strum's website.

John Scott
 
We inspected the starboard wing today and the pulleys and brackets were OK on that side. We will look further tomorrow.

I checked my old cables diameter in a couple places with a digital caliber.
0.132 to 0.133 inches or 3.4mm.

A 1/8th cable should be 0.125 or 3.1mm while a 9/64ths cable should be 0.140 or 3.5mm....
So I wonder what the heck I am looking at.......
 
Alex Clark said:
We inspected the starboard wing today and the pulleys and brackets were OK on that side. We will look further tomorrow.

I checked my old cables diameter in a couple places with a digital caliber.
0.132 to 0.133 inches or 3.4mm.

A 1/8th cable should be 0.125 or 3.1mm while a 9/64ths cable should be 0.140 or 3.5mm....
So I wonder what the heck I am looking at.......
Click to expand...

put the digital caliper away......

the pulley brackets get stretched out/bent in a wind event, not the cables... extremely common, go look at them again....
 
to clarify, both pulley brackets on each wing(total of 4)... if they each get pulled/bent 1/8" each one will add ~1/4" slop to cables ...EACH....
 
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Alex Clark said:
We inspected the starboard wing today and the pulleys and brackets were OK on that side. We will look further tomorrow.

I checked my old cables diameter in a couple places with a digital caliber.
0.132 to 0.133 inches or 3.4mm.

A 1/8th cable should be 0.125 or 3.1mm while a 9/64ths cable should be 0.140 or 3.5mm....
So I wonder what the heck I am looking at.......
Click to expand...

Cables grow in diameter. Rust and other matter work into them, and they get a bit bigger...
 
I am trying to be nice about this....

the brackets get bent/pulled in.... quit looking at the cables.... very common....
 
Yes I will check the pulleys and brackets again.
Either way,,, I already wanted to replace the cables. They have been too loose for 10 years, with no adjustment left in the barrels. You can move the stick 3-4 inches side to side before anything happens. They are old galvanized cables and do not look so swell after all these years in a sea-side climate, even though I wipe them down with corrosion X every week.
 
Alex Clark said:
..... They have been too loose for 10 years, with no adjustment left in the barrels. You can move the stick 3-4 inches side to side before anything happens....
Click to expand...
3-4 inches with nothing happening??? and you have let this happen for 10 years??? What on earth has your IA been looking at when he does his annual????
 
I also think NOT CABLES.

The galvanized cable you mention is actually stronger than stainless.

Not quite as resistant to corrosion though.



I believe AC 43.13-1B requires a "Proof Test" as part of cable manufacture.

Not really practical on the aircraft.


I had made up cables on the aircraft w/o the Proof with the Nico-press method.


To install a fabricated cable will require removal of pulleys, fairleads , etc.

BIG difference in install time.
 
This reminds me of a time when I was involved in the restoration/modification of a Widgeon. The owner told me that every year at annual time that he had to tighten up the elevator cables. Well, in the belly next to the step is a multiple pulley support bracket which the elevator cables passed through. The aluminum that made up this bracket was so corroded that it nearly fell apart when we took it out. IF​ this had failed in flight, which it was close to doing, this Widgeon would never ever have needed another annual and the owner would have only been a memory.
 
3-4 inches with nothing happening???
Click to expand...

3-4 inches at the top of a 4 ft stick is not as much as it sounds. ( 1.5-2 inches in each direction from dead center) Its a 1946 Cub at 65mph... It keeps nervous hands busy without doing Dutch rolls all over the place. And the faster you go the tighter they feel.

From what I can tell around 135 ft should be the answer to my original question. So I can order the blasted cable at the same time I order the other pulley and bracket parts.
 
Before you order; have you considered the associated hardware? Swaged or Nicopress?

How to cut & assemble?

Not everyone has the equipment to do this.
 
Yeap.
My AI has all the gear. I just need to have everything laid out before his highness before he will start...
 
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