Excessive aileron play in outboard Hinge

[David Pfeffer]

Hey gang,
Guessing this is a common problem. I have excessive play in the outboard aileron hinge (between the aileron attach bolt and hinge). Aka- if you grasp the outboard portion of the aileron, you can move it up and down vertically due to the slop. This is obviously bad for static loads and flutter concerns. How are folks correcting this typically?

There's a couple things I'm going to try before resorting to bushing or replacing the hinge, just curious how common this is and what other folks are doing? Tight tolerance bolts? Acres sleeves? Or are the hinges readily available?

[Kristin Winter]

I am not 100% sure what you are asking about. The bolt holding the hinge goes through a roller bearing. The bearing is just pressed into the bracket and staked. Webco has the bearings. If the problem is the hinge bracket that is attached to the aileron, then you may have bigger problems. There is an AD 77-08-01 and Service Letter 787 on the hinge bracket which requires either 100 hour inspections on the aileron or to have an improved hinge bracket installed. The problem that caused the AD was that the aileron spars were cracking behind and around the hinge brackett.

[David Pfeffer]

Kristin,
I should have checked the IPC closer. I thought it was just a plain bushing and not a roller bearing in the aileron hinge.

Knowing that now, it's either the roller bearing ID or the bolt itself that's worn. I'll know as soon as I ferry the plane back and get it into my hanger to start pulling the ailerons.

Good to know Webco has the bearings. I'd actually be surprised if it was the bearing that's worn though. I'm hoping it's just the bolt that requires replacement. We'll see. If not, it'll just have to remove and replace the bearing it looks like.

Has anyone seen either situation before? I can't imagine this is unique, espcially since this is on a low time (3000 hr) airframe.

[Ray B]

How times have changed! 40 years ago when I bought my first used Comanche I was told that the only reason I got it for $15,000 was it was a high time airframe, it had 2900 hours on it with a 100 hr SMOH engine. After 40 to 50 years a 50 hour TT airframe could be junk, depending where it's been. I think Piper built a remarkable airplane considering how many are still flying past the half century mark! Ray B