Roll pins in hinges of ailerons and flaps

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TAILspin38
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First Name: Anthony
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Aircraft Registration: N222AD
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Roll pins in hinges of ailerons and flaps

Post by TAILspin38 »

Hello to all! Just bought my first plane, 2006 DA40. Huge learning curve from the steam gage 172M. Have been reading the forum for over 6mnths while researching the Diamonds and others to find the right plane. Only have a couple of hours so far. Love the handling and still trying to dial in the landings. When doing my first pre flight with an instructor they pointed out the roll pins in the hinges of the ailerons and flaps and said if your finger nail can not easily jump over the pin when checking it you may want to have them looked at/ replaced. There were a few sticking out a FRACTION. I could not find much information about this and in my opinion if they're not out an 8th of an inch or more, are they really a concern? All information I found said they are difficult to even remove.
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Steve
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Re: Roll pins in hinges of ailerons and flaps

Post by Steve »

Hi Anthony, and welcome! I've had my DA40 since 2001, and the hinge pins in mine look the same as when new. There are some tests that can be done (and are part of the Annual Inspection checklist) to measure the longitudinal and radial play of the control surfaces, and there are limits published in the AMM.

I notice that you are based at Bobby Chain Municipal. On the topic of "its a small world", Bobby and Betty Chain were neighbors of mine for many years (we both owned condos in the same building on Perdido Key, FL). Super nice guy, and a pilot as well. He was very excited when I bought my DA40.

Steve
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Boatguy
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Re: Roll pins in hinges of ailerons and flaps

Post by Boatguy »

TAILspin38 wrote: Tue Dec 21, 2021 2:01 pm still trying to dial in the landings.
Low wing has more ground effect and floats easily. Nail the Vref speeds in the AFM, which are very sensitive to weight, and your landings will be much easier. A little fast above Vref will result in a long float.
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TAILspin38
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Re: Roll pins in hinges of ailerons and flaps

Post by TAILspin38 »

Thanks for the input on nailing the landings. Steve, you are the first person we heard of that new the Chains. We can't say enough about how great the airport and staff are. I will look for info published in the AMM. My pre-buy inspection was done by southtechaviation and I feel good about everything. All the knowledge garnered from this forum has been superb!
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