It turns out that prop / mixture / throttle cables from Aircraft Spruce and brackets from Vans don't match.  There is even greater possibility of mixup if you order a custom length cable from Spruce, tell them that you're building a Lancair, and intend to use a bracket from Vans.

And this is weird, because the cables all come from the same place -- ACS Products in Lake Havasu City.

As you may know, the standard cable from Spruce has a slot on the business end (the end in the engine compartment) that slides into a clamp bracket.  The ones from Vans all are captured by a pair of nuts on either side of a hole, like a bulkhead fitting.  Well, that part as easy to figure out.

However, the stroke on the Vans cables is different from the "standard stroke", or so I was told today.  I think it's 2.25 or 2.5 inches, instead of a standard 3 inches.  If you have a Vans bracket, but not the Vans stroke, then the threaded portion won't be in the right place to engage the Vans bracket.

"Education and recreation", eh?  Well, I'm getting *plenty* of education.  I'm about to order my third prop cable.  I'm still waiting for the "recreation".

- Rob Wolf
still building...