ETLB Squawk Forums — Archive

My minimax is around 30 years old, I'm wondering if teleflex cable goes bad from age?  I'd hate to have my elevator cable snap!

It has never flown, however. Just been dormant the whole time.

I'm going to stick your neck out and say no.

My MiniMax Flight manual recommends 'lubricate or service' every 25 hours, 'Inspect'  every 100 hours and replace the cables after 400 hours of flight, it doesn't say anything about an age life.

If you follow the Flight Manual's maintenance regime *you* might take off and fly the first flight hour with badly corroded cables - because of the environmental conditions the aircraft has been stored in over the last 30 years.

Or, you might have stored the aircraft in perfectly benign conditions, and had a good 'look' at them before flying.

BTW, the UK MiniMaxs have doubled-up cables for the elevator.

This is a sensitive topic on this forum!

I'm trying to figure out where I can get another cable and how hard it is to double up on them..  As a backup for now I was going to use my electric trim tabs as an emergency backup control system god forbid something happens.  But I'd love to add another cable.  Are they reasonably priced?

I'll give them a good look over for any corrosion, but it was kept indoors and at a reasonable temperature in a machine shop building for all its life, so it should be ok..

You can get another Teleflex cable from TEAM.  Just go to the store on their website.  I've had a lot of experience with this type of cable.  Remember there are many types, sizes, and makes.  As long as you choose one to take an amply heavier load than you can actually apply and conduct reasonable inspections they should be very safe.  There is no reason not to use two for further redundancy on the elevator as well, if you wish.

Tom

Here's good read...

http://www.lonesomebuzzards.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1240520370/

Thank you!  Seems easy enough, and that thread really helps.