An Error Fixed

This is one of the knobs to pull on in order to move the set of rudder pedals closer or farther forward. A small length of braided cable will pass through the hole seen here, to pull on the release mechanism. This knob will be just above the aft end of the rudder pedal and brake assembly.

But I drilled the holes about a mm too large, and the rim of the silver-colored blind rivet would pass through, where it was supposed to rest on the rim of the hole. What to do? I drove to both ends of my county in search of a solution. I knew I needed to put something around that rivet, and make a way for the it to engage the rim of the hole.

It looked like 5/16" hard copper tubing might work, but the store in Salida was out of that size. I drove to Buena Vista, where there's another True Value hardware store, and found the tubing I thought would work. Dropping the silvery rivet in, I found that it just barely needed to be pushed into place! The ID gripped the rivet perfectly and the OD fit into the hole snugly. Excellent!

I had also bought a flaring tool, with which I flared one of the ends on each piece. Being hard copper (or more likely, an alloy thereof), not flexible, with thin walls, I was hoping the tubing would flare rather than crack. It worked fine. My error was reversed. The next morning I fixed the assemblies in place with a small amount of superglue, and I'm back in business.

I'd drilled the two bottom holes on each side correctly, having discovered my error before I got there.

Now to figure out the rest of the hardware for the rudder/toebrake assembly. I've mounted the pedal assemblies on both the pilot and copilot sides, and I've threaded the rudder cables through them from where they attach on the firewall.