Pulley rigging

[Cessna4542c]

I am getting ready to rig my pulleys.  I'm guessing I should run the aircraft cable through the pulleys and clamped them in place before I weld them.  This will help make sure that I have the best alignment is there something else that I am missing a better way  of doing that,  or should I just weld them on according to the plan.

[Tom H]

We did the same thing you are thinking about when building LEU Treehugger and DE Stubby.  I found that installing the pulleys per plans did not best align the pulleys with the cable routing.  It may be OK - I'm sure many have been built that way - but we aligned and then welded the pulley mounts as needed for cable alignment.  It took a bit of extra effort and some inventiveness to do it, though.  Just make sure that your pulley mounts have the strength and rigidity to do the job, and have all the "cable keepers" in the right places.  I've attached a pic showing a couple of the DE pulleys at the fuselage/strut area, and you will probably notice that the location deviates from the plans a bit.  IIRC, I welded an extension to the strut/gear attach plates to hold the pulley.

Hope this helps.

[scottiniowa]

Rigging or setting up the pulleys and fair leads for any aircraft has always been best with the actual cable that will be used. Some have used string of same dia. and I have no problem with that. But by pulling/placing most cable, you will get the idea of what and where things need to be.   The fair leads tend to have a min/max tolerance for deflection for the cable, Sometimes it is best to use some of the deflection, in order to make all the rest work better. Again by clamping and checking with actual cable, you can get a good idea.  Just make sure you pull all cable before welding.

 With secure clamping, (small price to pay for the extra clamps) you can get a good feeling for how things will work in the end. 

Sounds like your on the right track.