Everything About Airplane Rigging with Cessna John Efinger - InTheHangar Ep 110

Cessna John Efinger (A&P/IA) takes us through all the basics of proper rigging of an airplane, so for all those requesting more maintenance type episodes, this is for you! For more info on John, check out his website: www.cessnarigging.com/
Follow Dan on Instagram @FlyWithDan
Support TakingOff at the Hangar Club and buy teeshirts at the store there: takingoff.s-films.com/
Support Christy: / pilotchristy
If you've bought a teeshirt-- do you think the higher quality Comfort Colors is worth the hassle?
FlyingEyes Sunglasses! Get 10% off by mentioning TAKINGOFF. flyingeyesoptics.com/
Take your plane to Wingfield Aviation! wingfieldaviation.com/

[@justsnappy]

Harrier mechanics really had to have all their ducts in a row!

[@LTVoyager]

Actually, that would make it pretty unstable like balancing on a stick. More like their ducts in array, which, unfortunately, doesn’t fit the old saying quite as nicely. 😁

[@bambocaw]

Wow thank you for this extremely educational video! I learned a lot about rigging. Next time I preflight a 172 I'll be looking at the geometry of the flight controls.

[@TCovey210]

John is the master at rigging, and is one of the most informative guys on the internet and always helps us pilot with questions regarding our aircraft.

[@williammentgen9271]

Great explanation of why your airplane occasionally has a steering issue on landing with a high aft CG. Whole video has great information. Thanks John.

[@davewilliams639]

The first thing I did when I bought my T210 in 2006 was take it to John to get it rigged properly..I highly recommend John for rigging and other Cessna maintenance!

[@cessnarigging]

And a very nice T210 it was!

[@peternancoz3031]

A must watch for anyone in the market for a plane!

[@jts4233]

This episode is a diamond! Thanks Dan and John 💘

[@kwittnebel]

A super high value 45 min. Just great, no BS programming straight from the horse’s mouth. This guy has forgotten more about this subject than most mechanics will ever know.

[@paratyshow]

Thanks for another informative and professional video Dan! 30k real soon!!!

[@ibgarrett]

Great conversation Dan... IMHO it's tough to find a solid A&P who is good at rigging.

[@TakingOff]

Very true. John's one of the best.

[@hempelcx]

Unfortunately we don't all live close to John and we don't all fly Cessna's... Checking the rigging is good general advice, but where I'm located, with the aircraft I own, there is no one around with experience doing it. So I may be paying an A&P to learn on the job and then spending money on fuel to see if it's right, come back and report the issues, and do it all over again. That's the reason I haven't done it yet, even though I know we're flying around in a perpetual slip.

[@annabobanaasmr8411]

Where could I learn to do it properly? Through internship not school

[@johnreed8872]

Thanks Dan... and John! This is really helpful information , especially for those of us building. Please keep up this type of content every now and then. Thanks again... Blue Skies!

[@Aerospace_Education]

Learned a great deal from this content. Thanks for putting it together. Lots of things to think about when going up to a new rental aircraft to get a feel for what flight characteristics it might have even before taking off. Thanks for the video!

[@stevenhorney7735]

Excellent video. Thank you!

[@golfnovember]

Now this is informative! I did 2 of the three A&P written, and I’m studying up on this subject, actually. Lots of really good real-world knowledge. This is excellent! Thanks!

[@cessnarigging]

Glad that this was helpful as this area in particular is not covered to the extent it should be in A&P schools across the country. It is a subject matter that should really be emphasized more IMHO.

[@nickinportland]

I don’t fly anything or have any useful purpose for this information but I love it. Excellent video.

[@REDMAN298]

Thanks for the education. I learned a lot.

[@SuperJonphil]

Great explanation on rigging thanks Jon and Taking off

[@joro18d93]

Incredible video. I'm doing these checks on my plane asap. Thank you Dan and John.

[@bernardc2553]

By far Best I've seen !

[@kashmoney494]

Great episode, I learned a lot and I'm certain I'll watch it again too. Thank you kindly Dan & John for taking the time to do this video. "Awesome Job"

[@jumpinjack1]

Great vid from start to finish, best 45 min for rigging then any book can provide. A gem of info. that was shared from years of experience, Thanks John.

[@clayslack3990]

Outstanding content.

[@QuezlySnipes]

Glad to finally see more of the mechanical/maintenance side of aviation 🙌🏿🙏🏿👏🏿 very, very informative (for those who aren't A&Ps) s#dss@p!! STIIL waiting for the "other" side of, or sidebar of "Taking Off"... the "In The 'Maintenance' Hangar"!!! Or "In the Hangar: Maintenance & Education Edition"!!

[@markwesterman9207]

Great job explaining this - I knew essentially nothing about rigging, now would say I understand enough to at least know if there is an issue and ask appropriate questions.

[@watchfordpilot]

An educational gem, thanks guys :)

[@tonythornton1973]

Enjoyed this video immensely. Spoke to John earlier this year about my ‘56 C182 rigging and we just never could get our schedules to work. I’m one of those guys with right rudder pressure to maintain straight and level flight. Gonna put a priority in getting on John’s schedule soon. Thanks Dan and John!

[@craigsanders6925]

Great info, THANKS

[@patrickheavirland3599]

Good morning from Minnesota!! really fantastic panel of guy! Great info!

[@earthsciteach]

Very interesting video!

[@Parr4theCourse]

VERY informative!!!!

[@thomascammarato7769]

WOW I like this, do more!

[@jimrauber5431]

I love the video my 182P model I wish I were around Texas to have you work it over it had a wing replaced with a used one and it could really use some TLC that way but it’s a wonderful airplane

[@desire7669]

Immensely insightful discussion and the experience shows - this is changing the way i perform a pre-flight.

[@TakingOff]

Me too!

[@dannybryant4459]

Hello learn a little about rigging i didn’t know like the 210 in the back the 182 nice

[@glendavis1266]

Very educational

[@MrGoldman9]

Thank you very much for this beautiful very high skill educational video I hope and wishing every student and aeroplane owners Watch this video before they fly or even learning to fly basically didn’t teach these things in the school or Academy Again thank you very much

[@emrebaskocak]

Luke Skywalker the A&P is back! May the force be with him

[@dannyphillips1956]

I had a problem with Mooney aileron links that had to be repaired. Where I worked, we would take the customers links and modify them and send them back. Mooney would sell new links and they would always be out of spec for the particular airplane. I have rigged hundreds of Mooneys over 11 years. You had to drill a hole for the rudder interconnect clamp which was always off. I even rigged the landing gear doors on a plane that the factory could not get right, what a job.

[@onthefarm2]

I appreciate the video.

[@jonz_original]

I would love to see a video like this for the PA-28 airframe!

[@kevinjarchow8812]

Yes please. Bring in Christy's "underpowered" Warrior and have him do his thing with before and after videos.

[@shootthegunsofhistory431]

it is the same, except to correct a wing heavy, you drop a flap. it is frustrating to get a piper in rig, then have some tech come along and re-rig the flaps, because one is down a 1/2 turn on a rod end, now it is wing heavy again. One way to tell the difference between a wing heavy and a rudder issue is, does it yaw before it drops the wing, or does it roll first ? ALWAYS check your rudder trim FIRST. One thing to look out for on pipers is the forward cushion on the elevator, the control column should not contact the firewall stop.

[@kevinjarchow8812]

@@shootthegunsofhistory431 Thanks.

[@jimmonti]

Dan thanks for this informative video. When I rent in always wonder about rigging of that plane. With luck I will have something of my own to fly. I will bring mine to John at that time!!

[@TakingOff]

He loves rigging.

[@jimmonti]

@@TakingOff Then we will really get along, since I like the systems to be tweaked to run right, so I will want my plane properly rigged and equipped!... typical engineer that I am.

[@AltonMoore]

About 27:30, people will also put the front strut in the mount 180 degrees off, which has the same effect -- the front wheel doesn't lock in place.

[@sabre908]

Excellent and very informative, thanks for this, Taking off crew. I’d like to share something with General Aviation Community: It seems like John was training in the military, where he had to learn to rigging really complex machines; I did the same but Military Tactical Helicopters, and still presently do it, and the way that we are doing, is a very clear and efficient system: 1. The Mechanics performing rigging need to be specifically training in this task, not everybody can do it. (Make sure your A&P is familiar with rigging or has the proper manufacture training) 2. If you have to make an adjustment of one the flight controls, you HAVE to perform an entire rigging of the flight control system ( just like John said, all the flight controls are connected in line with each other, a small change in one of them could make a big change in another at the end of the line) 3. If is not broken or is not that out rigging, don’t do anything, you may create more problems with a complete rigging that just leaving as is ( This is a new concept for the military, because is not efficient to over maintenance an aircraft, not even safe). Rigging is a really complex, long and tedious task that affects the safety and performance of the aircraft. So, if you decided that your aircraft is out of rigging, you should look for somebody like John or somebody with that level of knowledge to work in your machine, but if is not that bad, just keep flying it like that, until the next major inspection or until you have the money to pay for it, because it is going to be expensive 😂😂😂.. Cheers..

[@cessnarigging]

Not expensive at all in comparison to any other minor maintenance event. Not having to have your arm or foot cramp up and go numb on a X-ctry flight..... Priceless ;)

[@kimberlyholloway6888]

That's a funny looking airplane in the background! How does one go about rigging that one? 🤣 All joking aside, thank you for this video. Good information for ground crews (maintainers) and pilots alike.

[@simonbolivar6344]

Where you being for all this time man. Internet and KZbin has all ready pretty amount of time/ But thanks you got the Knobs >>>> LOL to do it. 100 % excellent explanation. I'm going to be you follower since now.

[@TakingOff]

Thx!

[@davidmeyers1434]

Wow! Where did you find this guy... that was most interesting. Loved it! I think my next preflight is going to a bit long :)

[@theresacaron4238]

A properly rigged airplane is a necessity when flying instruments with the autopilot off. If it won't fly level hand's off, your IFR flying will be riskier.

[@walterbecerra510]

Great and informative video. A couple of questions here... When you do the tension cable inspection and find that the cable is low; should you check all other cables before adjusting that one in particular? What is the potential of having only one cable with low tension? I would assume if you find one cable low tension, you better check and adjust all other cables equally so you don twist or misalign the bellcranks...what do you think?

[@jtthill5475]

One of the best interviews ever. Is the same true of low wing planes and does John rig or work on Piper aircraft? Thanks for sharing.

[@cessnarigging]

Unfortunately I just stick to Cessna these days.

[@JoseRivera-lt2cc]

Good insight - I'll check my C182 alignments on preflight as suggested. That said, my autopilot S-Tec 30 holds 2-axis well but struggles keeping altitude when skies get bumpy. Is that an elevator or trim rigging tension issue overriding autopilot motor?

[@fakewaysful]

What is the name of John Efinger´s KZbin channel !? :p Great video, My thanks to both of you for doing it!

[@dopetyperap2529]

came here from steezys channel, i love aviation🤘🏻

[@TakingOff]

Very cool 😎

[@LTVoyager]

Now we need a video on correcting all of the problems. 😁

[@jerrylittle7797]

Great video! I would ask John what impact does and AP installation have on rigging and does his approach change.

[@cessnarigging]

It only adds some additional steps. Start out with Rigging before you install an A/P. Beware that some Cable Tensions are not adjusted correctly after A/P work since many of these utilize a "Bridal-Cable" System. There is a balancing act to adjust both "Main Cable System and Bridal System" correctly. As mentioned in video, one arbitrary adjustment effects the other and this would be a prime example of such. Since Auto-Pilot Systems vary there is no one-size-fits-all but to answer your question, Yes. Rigging the Auto-Pilot System is affected with re-rigging the Airframe generally and needs to be taken to consideration when going through this process.

[@TeemarkConvair]

good to see, so far, 0 thumbs down; this was fascinating and brought to mind that US Air lost a B1900 due ,in part, to mis rigged elevator.That, coupled with erroneous passenger weights, left the crew without enough authority to prevent a take-off stall. So there can be greater consequences than skidding.

[@thomasaltruda]

I don’t remember that crash.. there was a B1900 where the elevator trim switch was backwards.. and the pilots tried trimming up, when in fact, they moved the trim nose down and they lawn darted into the ocean. No passengers were on board though..

[@Tomxman]

Also Dont let the elevator drop to the stop Either by hand or the control wheel (in 180-200 series Cessnas). It cracks the bellcrank rivets Theres ADs on this. Usually the carry through aileron cable (the one that connects aileron to aileron not control wheel) tightens double that the direct cables will

[@cessnarigging]

Never heard about this being an issue (or an AD) with 180-200 series and think the practice of loading up these controls to look for loose cross-shaft rivets would do more harm if common practice during a pre-flight per se and doing such with ham-fisted excess pressures. Sure, there is a Control Lock for ramp parking but these are to protect for excessive loads like sharp-gusty winds or rotor wash that cause abnormal excessive loads. Normal operations or in the hangar maintenance should not do any damage or cause wear as it just isn't that weak a system IMHO. I think someone told you about this being overly cautious such as a Flight School or similar where they spread rumors of "Don't do this or you will break it"... Yes, Carry-through or "Indirect-Cable" is the proper tension check point for SE Cessna rigging checks.

[@adrixkillzstreamer9318]

I’ve seen u with steezy kane

[@tag180rotax]

The wing cam seems like the camber adjustment bolts on a car

[@REDMAN298]

Caster is what makes a car center itself.

[@gagbru]

I fly a school DA-20 that need to have my left foot on the ball all the time to have it centered. This is very annoying. It’s has ad an annual but the problem is still very present. Can a fiberglass plane also be wrigged?

[@daviddefelice6997]

Dan, I've got a V-tail Bonanza that is out of rig, which I plan to have addressed at annual. When I line up the aileron with the flap on one side, the aileron on the other side is about an inch higher than the edge of the flap. Does John think that I might pick up some speed once it is rigged properly? I have been told that I'm probably at least 10 knots slower than I should be at cruise.

[@TakingOff]

What John told me during the interview, with a chuckle, was that "no, you don't pick up speed." But what he means is that by getting it back in rig, you get back to your best speed. So he might say you don't pick up speed, but being out of rig will slow you down. But yes, if you're out of rig, by rigging it properly, your performance will be better.

[@hempelcx]

You're probably not losing 10 knots solely from being mis-rigged, that's a lot. I've heard generally you might get back a couple knots, though I imagine it varies by plane and by how far out the rigging was. As a test, put yourself in a deliberate slip of a few degrees without making any other changes and see how the ground speed changes, I suspect it will be a knot or two, not 10.

[@cessnarigging]

@@hempelcx Identifying 1" Aileron deflection is quite a bit of displacement on just one portion of a system. Considering this is a high performance Aircraft I have seen a significant speed loss from various mis-rigged flight controls. As I stated in the video I dont try and make any "speed claims" but conformity of the various systems. How often do you see flying just slightly out of Rudder trim and you gain 1 KTAS just centering the ball, 2-3 KTAS closing Cowl Flaps on a C-210? I can't give specifics on the Bo's as I am not a Bonanza mech but imagine similar findings.

[@ShuRugal]

Yes, Dan, the answer for that guy is "don't hang shit off the yoke" i get that it's convenient and easy, but it's also interfering with the flight controls. What, exactly, do you think the NTSB is going to recommend when they find some dummy crashed his Cessna because he had 5 lbs of crap sticking up from the yoke with a poorly secured RAM mount, which fell over sideways and dragged the yoke all the way to the stop with it?

[@HoundDogMech]

Is there a large difference in what to look for say on a 1953 C-170 tail dragger than a nose dragger?

[@cessnarigging]

Not much difference, just look for similar findings on the Tail-wheel motion. No scissor link but typical checks. Flap Handle should latch both up & down with typical pressures. Wing group will be very similar & generally the obvious giveaway. You still have the same Wing eccentric cam system.

[@RedlineAircraftMX]

Where is the info that makes a strutted wing with aileron trim illegal? Don't disagree but would like to read it myself. Thanks

[@owyz1support487]

what kind of stripper is used?

[@paulki8fr]

I have to keep right rudder to keep my ball centered in my Lark. It suck.

[@cessnarigging]

One of the 1st GA Aircraft I ever rigged was a Darter 100! It has been many, many years ago so dont recall most of the details. There was a Tab on the Nose Wheel fairing that was utilized as an assist to Rudder Control (slipping through the steep turns). I am sure if you looked into this deeper it can be corrected. The Flap Bellcrank, at least on the Darter could be flipped around 180 and eliminate the wear in the retracted stop system (also spring groove wear). I cant recall if there is a Rudder Trim Tab on these either but I know you can make it fly straight again with some attention to detail.

[@paulki8fr]

Thanks for the info. There is no tab on the rudder right now and I was going to talk to my mechanic to see off w can put one on. But there is a Finn on the nose wheel pants. Something to look into. I love my Lark. I just got it about a month ago.

[@cessnarigging]

@@paulki8fr Not sure if you caught this but there was a comment made about adding a trim tab. Big "No-No", illegal alteration of a Flight Control. Every Aircraft has a system in place to correct imbalances. You have to find someone familiar with the particulars of your Model. When I worked on that Darter 100 so many years ago there was a parts supplier (only one in US I found) based out of OK City I believe if they are still around? They would be a good starting point to research or find a type club. I know there isn't much to the actual service manual much like an assembly sheet for a pc of lawn furniture from what I recall. Sometimes one has to reverse engineer these systems to understand them.

[@paulki8fr]

Ya I asked my mechanic about a trim tab and said it is a big no no also. We'll have to do some research thanks for the information.

[@Jeffrey-Flys]

PhD level stuff in AA level language.... brilliant info for me as a student who is moving toward purchasing a 50 year old 150... thanks @flywithdan

[@aeph2196]

here from steezy

[@gaigegaddis3952]

Zeezy made me come here

[@Part_121]

You haven't lived until you've rigged the leading edge slats on a DC-9. Eccentric cams all the way down...

[@cessnarigging]

Try a Cessna Wren ; )

[@DoctorMangler]

I like the rigger, not a big fan of you as the interviewer.

[@TakingOff]

I’m okay with that.