Sender: <marv@lancaironline.net> (Marvin Kaye)
To: lml
Date: Fri, 23 May 2003 09:53:10 -0400
Message-ID: <redirect-2360503@logan.com>
From: "Robert Smiley" <rsmiley@centurytel.net>
Subject: RE: [LML] Re: LNC2 Horiz.stab  hinge center line
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Building a 360 may be different but here goes.  I glued tongue depressers on
the end of the stab/ wing and strung a red sewing thread through the bearing
hinge holes of the pivot points.  Adjusted the height, in and out of the
string line by moving the tongue depresser for initial gluing (using a hot
wax glue gun) then either ground or added material to the tongue
depresser(s) for precise adjustments to adjust the red thread hinge line to
the desired position. (That position is up to you fellas concerning your
present discussion)  Thread is light and strong and will have a negligible
cantonary (sp) sag.  I then planted the outside hinge bearings in the
permanent position with the thread centered in each bearing hole ( be
careful to make sure that all bearings are perfectly aligned within each
mounting  along the hinge line axis. Use a small length rod run through the
bearing to eyeball align bearing for proper alignment with respect to the
mount before running the thread through the bearing hole by setting the
mount against the spar, eyeball the rod vertically and horizontally with
respect to the spar, add a dab of hot wax to fix the bearing in the mount,
then carefully remove the rod. Now run the red thread through each bearing.
Concentrate of perfectly aligning the two outside bearings to establish a
true hinge line for the entire surface.  Inner bearing adjustments follow
after you are satisfied with your alignment. Minor adjustments for skin
attachment variations were made with a combination of micro added to the
control surface leading edge, gap sanding of the wing, H Stab trailing edge
and an ever so slight heating and bending of the trailing edge aft of the
trailing spar in the most difficult cases. All final gaps are .05 inch using
sandpaper glued to multiple layers of duct tape with one side smooth. The
itterative process of truing up the flying surface and leading edge of the
control surface was an experience that took much patience.
Have fun guys; you are building the best plane in the world in my judgement.

Caveat,  The outside two bearings may not be the best overall location for
the hinge line.  Skin warpaage, wing twist etc.  No way to know until you
start the process. Also as you move each bearing assy, the bearing hole
alignment may change because the bearing pad angle may be diffrent. In this
case you may want to remove the wax and allow the bearing to rotate freely
being carefull to inspect constantly that they are undisturbed and are in
alignment.

I think the factory builders program is great.  Wished we had it when
building the 360s but alas that was not the case.  Also the earlier 360s,
like mine, had a lot of assembly work required as compared to the legacies.
My impression is you guys are building with parts similar to the old plastic
injected molded model airplanes.  Glue the parts together and you have a
plane.  There are however still some areas where artful solutions are
required and that is where the real satisfaction comes.  You struggle to
find the best solution, (Which may be several) you try it and it works and a
great feeling of relief and satisfaction come over you that one more hurdle
towards completion has been accomplished.

As a side note, I completed by BFR in the Lancair 360 with a former FAA
examiner.  We did some demonstrations of hands off control flying to
determine stability and predictability and rigging without ugly trim tabs.
He was highly impressed and had a lot of good comments for the 360.  So
Spend a lot of time on building true and accurate control surfaces and you
to can have a straight flying machine.

Bob Smiley
N94RJ

Bob Smiley

 N94RJ