Drifter tail bolt and lube

[USADrifter]

Time for annual maintenance and inspection. I was looking at the AN4-62 bolt which passes through the tail boom and holds the leading edge of the vertical stab and a set of flying wires on my strut braced Drifter. Seems like a lot of stress and vibration is absorbed by this single bolt. Anyone care to comment on a regular practice of replacing/inspecting this bolt (or not)? Any known failures of this bolt?

 

Also, what lube seems to work best for the elevator push rod pass-throughs along the tail boom? Looking for a compromise of good lube, but not attracting dirt & debris on a grass runway.

 

Thanks,

 

Ken

 

 

[facthunter]

If you think it is important, change it. Something back there used to come off and hit the tailfeathers, as I recall but I'm having a seniors moment on the specifics. Hey, that's a cool statement . I must use it more often. Nev

 

 

[farri]

G`Day Ken, I took delivery of my Austflight WB Drifter back in 1986 ( From Memory ) and the bolt you`re refering to was an AN-3. I got fairly panaroid about it breaking so I replaced it with an AN-4. I`ve never heard of any breaking.

 

It`s best that you determine when you should inspect the bolt. You`re the one who knows the conditions that you operate in. Having inspected the bolt, unles it is rusted or damaged in any way, there realy isn`t any need to replace it.

 

On the push rod, try 3-in-one Professional Silicone Spray Lubricant or something similar, it dries off but lubricates. I also spray it over the engine, to help control corrosion!

 

Frank

 

 

[USADrifter]

I'm the second owner of this aircraft, but I have the original Austflight SB construction manual. A quick check of the parts diagram calls this an AN4-62A. Seems like it's about 11"/27 cm long!

 

 

[M61A1]

I'm the second owner of this aircraft, but I have the original Austflight SB construction manual. A quick check of the parts diagram calls this an AN4-62A. Seems like it's about 11"/27 cm long!

The 4 part means it's 4 16ths in diameter (or 1/4"), the -62 means, 62 16ths grip length (the shank). the 'A', if I remember correctly mean that it has a split pin hole in the threaded area. Given that a drifter boom is 5" diameter it would have to be around a -84.

A visual inspection should suffice, look for detectable wear on the shank, bent/ distortion, corrosion, thread damage, etc. I would be more concerned about looking at the hole that it goes in, any damage or corrosion around there is bad news.

 

 

[Tex]

'A' is undrilled

 

 

[USADrifter]

Thanks for the lube idea, Frank.

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

USADrifter, I flew a 582 WB Drifter for 11 years. I am familiar with the bolt you mention. A friend of mine years ago had a similiar bolt fail right under the head once, (Eipper GT 400 aircraft) which allowed the foward section of the fin to lean to one side. He did make it down ok but certainly was in no hurry to repeat the experience !... There is some movement on the Drifter tail, and I also saw the potential for it to happen on the bolt you mention.

 

What I did was to manufacture two cables with tangs each end. One tang went under the short -4 bolt on the U bracket, the other under the head of an adjacent bolt on the bottom of the boom. I covered the 1/8' cables with clear plastic tubing so they wouldn't damage the boom.

 

This gave me a suitable backup should the bolt head fail. It never did of course , but better safe than sorry !...A real easy way to cover your arxx.........Sorry i don't have any photos......................................................................Maj...

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Actually I do have a photo...you can see the cable clearly in the attached photo of my old Drifter.....

 

 

[USADrifter]

Actually I do have a photo...you can see the cable clearly in the attached photo of my old Drifter.....

Great idea but I don't seem to see a photo here, am I missing something?

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

Great idea but I don't seem to see a photo here, am I missing something?

Sorry USA Drifter, I have tried to upload the photo but it will not load, I'll continue to work on it though.............................Maj...

 

 

[Guest Maj Millard]

 

Finally here it is....................you can just see the cable below the fwd fin attach......the photo distortion is because I had to reduce the original photo size.