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When the engine is at an idle or while taxiing the FireFly, the struts rattled on both ends. I used some metal spacers on the pins up next to the wing to keep the struts centered, but they still rattled. It seems like a trivial problem but I figure if it bothers me, I need to fix it. So, here is my solution.
To get rid of the rattle, kitchen sink vinyl spray hose was cut into equal length sections and placed on each side of the wing connector. The pieces were cut just a little bit long so that one had to push them into place. Then the pin was slipped through the assembly to hold everything together. |
I had not used any spacers on the lower strut pin. As result, the strut tab could slide fore and backward on the pin. They made a very noticeable amount of noise at engine idle and during taxi to and from the runway.
The same technique was used as on the upper ends, except spacer thickness was reduced. The important thing was to cut the spacers a little long, and then trim them to a forced fit. If the struts and pins can not move, there will be no rattling, and better yet there will be no wear between the pin and the holes. |
One needs a third hand to do this job. A 2 by 2 was cut just a little longer than the distance from the under side of the wing at the fold holder hole to the floor. A large nail was hammered into the up end. A six inch square of wall panel with a 1/2 inch hole drilled through the center was placed over the nail.
To support the wing, the nail is placed in the holder hole, the wing raised and the stick bottom moved into vertical position. Then with the brakes locked or the wheels chocked, one can remove strut retaining pins with out fear of dropping the wing. |