My quick build kit shipped with the aft torque tube already installed, which at the time I thought this was great, less work for me!
After spending many hours working to get the main elevator torque tubes moving with minimal resistance my expectations for the rest of the control system were much higher.
The same problems existed on the aft elevator short torque tube, which means I needed to disassemble this part and get to work.
For those building from the flat pack definitely spend the extra time before you fully assemble this section to get this control section exactly how you want it. Trying to fix this later in the build is quite difficult and getting access to the rivets in this location are a challenge without custom tools.
To reduce overall friction in this section I removed the close-out ribs and started working on sanding the ribs to allow the bushings more room to seat properly.
I also slightly enlarged the bushing locking plates to keep the bushings aligned on the same axis as the torque tube.
The torque tube was wet sanded to reduce surface friction where it rests inside the bushing.
I reassembled everything with some white lithium grease and Cleco's and turning resistance was significantly improved.
With these steps complete I needed to rivet the locking plates the hold the bushings in-place but I hadn't considered just how little space there was to even get a hand-pulled riveter in this section.
I found a drill operated rivet attachment that I could use with a 90 degree drill fitting to get the last few rivets pulled.
Pop Rivet Gun Tool Rivet Drill Attachment
Prior to riveting everything in place I needed to secure the locking collars to the elevator tube.
The last step during final riveting of the close out ribs was to add J-B Weld on the bushings to lock them in place so that they didn't rotate with the torque tubes.
