Solid leadouts versus stranded cable

Over the years I have used both methods and have experianced only one failure. That was when a stranded leadout ate it's way through a bell crank. I have since bushed the connections. My question, what are the pros and cons of one method versus the other?

Peter Mick

I prefer the stranded. The solid wires have a tendency to bend as they exit the wing if they are a bit long. I also prefer metal bellcranks over the nylon type. In either case clean up the holes on the bellcrank before installing the leadouts. Friction free as it can be!!
RAF

They both work. As you may have observed, under normal flying conditions, there is no need to have the leadouts flex.


As I see it, the overwhelming difference is ground handling damage, in that solid leadouts can get bent, then straightened, and ultimately weakened.

>They both work. As you may have observed, under normal
>flying conditions, there is no need to have the leadouts
>flex.
>
>
>As I see it, the overwhelming difference is ground handling
>damage, in that solid leadouts can get bent, then
>straightened, and ultimately weakened.
>

Making the end fitting is also an issue. I think stranded are the way to go. I will post pictures of two possible solutions to the wear issue later.


Brett

I don't like the way solid leadouts buzz and rattle; they are also more susceptible to damage at the wing tip. With either type and proper end treatment, sawn bellcranks or leadouts should never occur.

[photo not recovered: 26296.gif]

"If you don't want to work, you have to work to earn enough money so that you won't have to work." -Ogden Nash

"If you don't want to work, you have to work to earn enough money so that you won't have to work." -Ogden Nash


"If you're liberal enough, the system will make up for meager earnings." -Alan Ginsberg

I'd go for stranded.

The problem is not the leadout, but how you tie'em up...
Use copper tubes and..

Darn it, doesn't anybody have some pics?

Ion

>I'd go for stranded.
>
>The problem is not the leadout, but how you tie'em up...
>Use copper tubes and..
>
>Darn it, doesn't anybody have some pics?
>

Version #1 - copper tubing teardrop (this one has about 10 years of competition stunt, was in the first two Infinities (back to the 95 NATs, put in next airplane, then crashed at 2005 NATs). No detectable wear on the tubing, although the pivot is a little loose.

[photo not recovered: 28549.jpg]

Version #2 - discussed ad infinitum before.


[photo not recovered: 28550.jpg]


[photo not recovered: 28551.jpg]


Brett

Attachment #1, (jpg file)
Attachment #2, (jpg file)
Attachment #3, (jpg file)

How do you make the teardrop part cable goes around?
Are you using a nut on bottom of 4-40 (??) bolt or is it tapped into bellcrank?
Small bushing, what material, do you make it or buy it?

Allan Perret

>How do you make the teardrop part cable goes around?

Drill the hole, cut it out of delrin/teflon sheet, cut/file groove around the edge with a dovetail saw and then a needle file. It's pretty small - the wrapping wire is 28 gauge magnet wire.


>Are you using a nut on bottom of 4-40 (??) bolt or is it
>tapped into bellcrank?

Its a nylock nut. The aluminum facing is only and it's not nearly thick enough to effectively tap. The nut is also glued with JB Weld to the threads and the facing.

>Small bushing, what material, do you make it or buy it?

Its 3/16 thick-wall aluminum tubing from the hobby shop. I cut it to approximate length with a Zona saw and then face it off square with sandpaper. This is by far the fussiest part of the operation. I have made about half a dozen jigs to make this easier and it's still irritating. The other difficulty is that they, so far, have to be fitted to each individual bellcrank. Still, in all, it's not all that difficult to make the entire thing with hand tools in an hour and a half or so, not counting glue curing time.

Brett

Good pics, Brett. Where did you get that fine looking bellcrank?

[photo not recovered: 26296.gif]

"At the feast of ego everyone leaves hungry." -Bentley's House of Coffee and Tea, Tucson, AZ

I agree with RAF, stranded is the way to go. I have never had anything wear out, it usually crashed first and then maybe moved to a new model.

It all seems to be personal preferences and possibly even a regional thing. If done correctly, I don't believe there is any significant differences except the possibility of the solids being easier to accidentally bend.

We've had one leadout failure. A box stock build of a kit which had stranded leadouts and a metal bellcrank. The wire frayed and broke at the BC. Fortunately no real major damage!

Big Bear <><
Character: It's what you do when no one else is watching.

I know of one, and only one, place where solids are superior -- On a profile with exposed (external) leadouts under the wing (like a U-key). Solids can't sag down to the grass.

In the case of under wing solids, wear or rebending isn't a safety issue, as all is visible. A bent leadout is easily replaced, even at the field, in five minutes.

Besides, it is nice to have a place to display an otherwise obsolete skill -- bending secure and pretty ends on solids. The only other place that skill is useful is in manual typewriter repair, for which there is surprisingly little demand.

Larry Fulwider

I always use stranded in a setup similar to the one Brett shows. My buddy, Pat Johnston, always uses solids. Go figure.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some days it seems like a coin toss between George Orwell and Monty Python...

I jusr replaced the solids on the used CG Shoestring I bought a couple years ago. Each leadout had been bent and straightend at least a couple times, so they were pretty sticky.

Used stranded with copper tube bushings at each end. I timed it but didn't take pictures, took me 1 hr 15 min without refinish time for the wing. Well worth it- controls are silky smooth now.

Bill Heher
If it's broke, fix it.
If it aint broke - let me see it for a minute