Rudder Pedal Assembly
I opted for the standard rudder and hand-brake for my Sling, I found that operation took a little bit of time get used but ultimately determined that adding toe brakes would not have significantly improve ground handling characteristics.
My current aircraft is a Vans RV-12 with a castering nose wheel, and mastering that takes quite a bit of time and finesse but provided maximum turning capability in either direction. The sling having a steerable nose gear means that you are going to get the same tuning radius without the need for multiple brake cylinders and a lot of hydraulic lines.
My left and right rudder pedal tubes were painted black at the factory, so I opted to have the bushing close-out plates powder coated as well to protect these surfaces and have consistent finish.
Tip #1
If you are going to paint or powder coat these parts only paint the outsides or keep the paint thickness to a minimum. I powder coated both sides and when all of he parts were assembled they put a lot of strain on the bushings and caused binding in the rudder tubes. This meant that I had to remove nearly all of the power coating on the inside of the closeout brackets to provide sufficient clearance.
I removed paint where part #7 and most of the inside and outside paint on with the lower section in turquoise as shown below. I ended up taping off the paint I wanted to keep and removed the rest with a Dremel and an abrasive wheel.
Tip #2
I recommend some white lithium grease on the bushings, to remove as much friction as possible.
I used CRC SL3660 Super White Multi-Purpose Lithium
I test fit everything after removing the power coating getting in my way.
I used a reamer to cleanup the holes so that I could insert rivets easily through the rudder tube mounts into the bottom of the fuselage.
In most cases is was quite easy to pull rivets where my Milwaukee riveter would fit, in some instances I used a hand-pull riveter for some tight spaces.
I was cool getting to install the rudder tubes into the fuselage, it made the inside feel like an airplane.
I will be switching to the Sling branded rudder pedals in the future, but for now I installed the bar pedals that came with the kit.
I have the same bar configuration in my RV-12 and I find that this small amount of surface area can be tricky to keep your feet on and even a little dangerous if your feet happen to be wet due to a rainy day.
I have mitigated this with wing walk tape so that my shoes get sufficient grip.
Something I sought clarity from the engineering team at the factory was the removal of material on the rudder control stops. They sent back the following pictures of what they are doing at the factory.
Some builders are shaping these parts similar to what is shown below and I think a few builders bent their brackets to allow more clearance without the need to cut.
Another view without the markup for visibility.
I temporarily assembled everything until I was ready to connect the rudder cables, and push/pull tubes for the nose gear steering.
