Building and Flying Related Boards › miniMax, Hi-Max, and AirBike General Discussions
BlueMaxNovember 29, 2020, 10:27pm
While preflighting my 1500ish minimax (converted from a himax) yesterday I discovered a failure of the crimp retaining the external sleeve of the Left hand aileron cable at the aileron end. See pic below and remeber to keep an eye on the cables, its not just a myth or one mans bad luck, it can happen.
Fly safe y'all
Chris
When in doubt just use full throttle.... it might not help but it will end the suspense.
flydogNovember 30, 2020, 1:17pm
Oh boy now I'm getting nervous.
Was it fully broken when you found it and had been flying with it like that for at least part of the last flight?
What exactly is the concern? I mean,the operating cable still goes back and forth right? Concern of it jamming and not operating?
BlueMaxNovember 30, 2020, 3:08pm
I did notice the ailerons getting heavier on the previous flight so it failed in the air at some point. There is a slight crimp in the cable housing that prevents the inner external sleeve from pulling out and leaving the cable core unsupported as is seen in the picture on my plane. the concern is the exposed and unsupported cable can kink under load, thus jamming the controls in a deflected position and or limit travel.
Team has a SB against the elevator cable that installs a safety kit to prevent such failures. This is the first time i've seen this on an aileron cable and I will be safetying them per the SB as well!
Chris
When in doubt just use full throttle.... it might not help but it will end the suspense.
TreeTopsTomDecember 2, 2020, 7:38am
Wouldn't a better answer to be to source a better quality cable? If it has a Red color it is NOT the best cable available. It was just the least expensive that met the MINIMUM specifications. Look to CableCraft, and an INNER core that has a WOUND wire (not single solid) as these have. JMHO
"Utility" # 174 or 174 or 175
"L= 1/4-28 threads"
End fitting = "T" for threaded
Cable travel (I forgot) 4" maybe?
Length (I forgot) Whatever your existing one is.
If you call them to ask questions just don't mention that it's for an airplane , opps..Air vehicle.
Oh, I see they also have a Blue Max Brand. Even better quality BUT IIRC the cost was getting way up there.
The ones I choose were the Gray color & I believe that makes them the "UTILITY" grade. They looked to be about
4 times the quality of the OEM cables. IIRC they were in the $60 each price range.
