Aileron torque tube quick disconnect

[John Slade]

At the recommendation of others I considered eliminating the "quick disconnect" fittings in the aileron torque tubes, but eventually installed them. The advice was right. Once the aileron controls were finished, and I needed to remove the wing for the LAST time, I found that the quick disconnects were unnecessary, perhaps even a liability. Why? Well, when you remove the bolt for disconnect, there isnt enough travel on the ailerons to remove the tube. It stays joined until you remove the wing. So you just slide the wing off right? I may be paranoid, but it seems to me that moving the wing, and backing it off the bolts with that tube still connected might well lead you to move the torque tube rearwards and bend the aileron rod end. Anyway, it didnt look good to me, so I decided to remove the rod end at the bellcrank. The other potential problem is introduction of slop at the quick disconnect fitting. My recommendation to new builders is skip the quick disconnect and make the torque tube all one piece.