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MECHANICAL FLIGHT CONTROLS

Control Cables, Routing Hardware and Rigging Checks

General construction, routing and rigging principles for aircraft mechanical control cables.

Simplified control-cable system with turnbuckle, fairlead, guarded pulley and control surface
System relationship only: a turnbuckle adjusts tension, a fairlead guides a straight run, and a guarded pulley changes direction.

Key reference points

  • Treat the cable system as one complete load path.
  • Use pulleys, fairleads and terminals only for their approved purpose.
  • Verify tension, travel, direction and security with approved data.

Organised training notes

1Cable and terminal construction

Confirm cable construction, diameter, material and terminal type from the approved system data.

  1. 1.1 Cable constructionStrand designations such as 7 × 7 and 7 × 19 describe construction, not permission to substitute one cable for another.
  2. 1.2 TerminalsSwaged, thimble-eye and other terminal systems have different tooling, strength and inspection requirements.
  3. 1.3 Swage inspectionCheck the approved diameter or gauge result, surface condition, cable position, slippage and broken wires.

2Routing hardware

Inspect each routing component for condition, alignment, security and correct purpose.

  1. 2.1 Pulleys and guardsPulleys change cable direction; guards retain the cable without interfering with pulley rotation.
  2. 2.2 Fairleads and pressure sealsFairleads guide and protect a substantially straight run; pressure seals preserve the pressure boundary where specified.
  3. 2.3 Turnbuckles and linksTurnbuckles adjust tension and require the approved thread engagement, locking and safetying method.

3Inspection and rigging

Set the system using the aircraft-defined neutral position, cable-tension correction and travel limits.

  1. 3.1 Cable conditionInspect for external and internal wear, broken wires, corrosion, distortion and damage near pulleys, fairleads and terminals.
  2. 3.2 Tension and travelUse calibrated equipment, the correct cable-size chart and the applicable temperature-correction data.
  3. 3.3 Final operationVerify cockpit-to-surface direction, synchronization, freedom of movement, stops, security and independent inspection.
Training-reference boundary

This summary is not approved repair or maintenance data. Do not inspect, classify, select material, alter structure or perform a repair from this page alone. Use the current applicable SRM, AMM, engineering order, drawing and company procedures.

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