Aileron Falls To The Right

[CGR]

On my RV-10 the stick and the ailerons fall to the right when plane is sitting parked. Ive owned the RV-10 for a year and noticed this from the start. Was wondering if this is normal? I've even unhooked the wing servo to see if it changed anything, and it didn't. Stick falls right on its own. I notice no in flight issue. Thanks for comments

 

[bruceh]

Does it have an aileron trim system? I've seen where the spring lengths/tensions are not equal and it will pull one direction on its own.

 

[CGR]

Pitch trim only. No Aileron trim.

 

[kenpilot]

(I can only speak to my RV-6A, not an RV-10)
Each aileron has a counterbalance rod inside, but that seems to be for balancing that particular aileron. I see no instructions for ensuring the left/right set is balanced against each other when assembled to the wing. But it's very possible that one of your ailerons is slightly off, pulling the stick away from that one, but I see some old posts that say aileron balance is not all that critical on RVs.

At least you know all your rod end bearings are nicely lubricated!

the stick and the ailerons fall to the right

I really hope the stick and ailerons do not both fall to the right, as that would be a crossed control system.

 

[BobTurner]

Are you saying that, on the ground, if you have full left stick, and you release it, it moves to full right? This doesn’t sound right to me. My guess is that the plane had a ‘heavy’ left wing, and the builder added a spring somewhere to help hold that wing up. I’d go thru all the rigging adjustments, fix it right. Look very carefully at the vertical height of the ailerons when the controls (pitch and roll) are neutral. The ailerons should be just slightly higher than the top of the wing, and they must be the same (sight down the wings from the front). The -10 is quite sensitive to 1/16” difference.

 

[CGR]

No crossed control... Stick goes to the right, left aileron down, right aileron up. Plane fly great. Since I didn't build the plane and have not seen the rigging inside, I want to take off access panels and take a look around. with a camera and scope it out. Just seems to me the stick should stay where you leave it. plane being on level ground.

 

[bjdecker]

In the side/side RVs (6,7,9,10,14) there will be movement of the ailerons when the horizontal stabilizer is moved. If the ailerons are rigged without first locking the horizontal elevator in trail, the effect will be worse.

 

[kiwipete]

Do you have an Autopilot? It could be as simple as the weight of the servo pulling it in that direction when turned off. Frankly if it’s flying fine I’d not be concerned.

 

[rv8ch]

Strange that there is no roll trim - is this normal in an RV-10?

 

[Janekom]

Roll trim is a kit option on the RV10. I know of several without roll trim.

 

[Plummit]

Strange that there is no roll trim - is this normal in an RV-

I don't have Roll trim on my -10. I do have rudder trim, but I use Otto for most of my flying, and he takes care of the Roll for me.

-Marc

 

[lr172]

I would pull a seat and have a look under there, as well as the two access panels in the wing where the trim goes. That is a pretty balanced system and should not going strongly to one side or the other without some type of force on it like a spring. Maybe someone rigged up a spring to deal with a heavy wing.

 

[CGR]

Thanks for that.. I'm gonna pull seat too.

 

[lr172]

Thanks for that.. I'm gonna pull seat too.

There are three access panels on the bottom of each wing. If the roll trim option was installed, it would have been screwed or rivetted onto one of these panels. Look at your panels and if any have those fasteners, pull it off and investigate.