Aileron Pushrod Fabrication

10 May 2006, 2 of us, 3 hours each.



Tonight we started fabricating the aileron pushrods. We cut the raw aluminum tubes to length using a pipe cutter, which worked pretty well, except that it rolled the edge of the tube in where the blade rolled around it. This caused an interference with the rod end, and it took a fair bit of filing to open the end of the tube enough to slip the rod end into it.

In the next few days, we debated a bit how to reliably prime the interior of these tubes. Once the rod ends have been riveted in, there is no practical corrosion inspection of the interior of the tube possible. Obviously, a fatigue failure of the tube would not result in a good day. A friend who is building a Long EZ suggested annodizing the pushrods, and pointed us to a shop he has used, Almag Plating Corporation in south Baltimore. This seemed like the perfect solution. We decided to go ahead and fabricate the elevator pushrods also, and get the lot annodized together. We ended up using a clear sulfuric anodize with hot water seal, which cost $75.00 for the whole lot. It would have been cheaper, but the rods were so long, the guys at Almag had to do a special job just for this.

The photo here was taken a couple weeks later, after the parts were back from plating.