FAA Advisory Circular 43.13-1B
Acceptable Methods, Techniques, and Practices
Aircraft Inspection and Repair
AC 43.13-1B | 7. Aircraft Hardware, Control Cables, and Turnbuckles | 8. Inspection and Repair of Control Cables and Turnbuckles | 7-149. Cable System Inspection
9/27/01
AC 43.13-1B CHG 1
actuate the controls and check for friction or
hard movement. These are indications that ex
cessive cable tension exists.
NOTE: If the control movement is stiff
after maintenance is performed on con-
trol surfaces, check for parallel cables
twisted around each other, or cables
connected in reverse.
k. Check swaged terminal reference
marks for an indication of cable slippage
within the fitting. Inspect the fitting assembly
for distortion and/or broken strands at the ter
minal. Ensure that all bearings and swivel fit
tings (bolted or pinned) pivot freely to prevent
binding and subsequent failure. Check turn
buckles for proper thread exposure and broken
or missing safety wires/clips.
FIGURE 7-19. Internal end view of cable wear.
wool or solvents to clean installed cables. Use
of metallic wool will embed dissimilar metal
particles in the cables and create further corro
sion problems. Solvents will remove internal
cable lubricant allowing cable strands to
abrade and further corrode. After thorough
cleaning, sparingly apply specification
MIL-C-16173, grade 4, corrosion-preventive
compound to cable. Do not apply the material
so thick that it will interfere with the operation
of cables at fair-leads, pulleys, or grooved
bellcrank areas.
j. Examine cable runs for incorrect rout
ing, fraying, twisting, or wear at fair-leads,
pulleys, antiabrasion strips, and guards. Look
for interference with adjacent structure,
equipment, wiring, plumbing, and other con
trols. Inspect cable systems for binding, full
travel, and security of attaching hardware.
Check for slack in the cable system by at
tempting to move the control column and/or
pedals while the gust locks are installed on the
control surfaces. With the gust locks removed,
l. Inspect pulleys for roughness, sharp
edges, and presence of foreign material em
bedded in the grooves. Examine pulley bear
ings to ensure proper lubrication, smooth rota
tion; and freedom from flat spots, dirt, and
paint spray. During the inspection, rotate the
pulleys, which only turn through a small arc, to
provide a new bearing surface for the cable.
Maintain pulley alignment to prevent the cable
from riding on the flanges and chafing against
guards, covers, or adjacent structure. Check
all pulley brackets and guards for damage,
alignment, and security.
m. Various cable system malfunctions
may be detected by analyzing pulley condi
tions. These include such discrepancies as too
much tension, misalignment, pulley bearing
problems, and size mismatches between cables
and pulleys. Examples of these condition are
shown in figure 7-20.
Par 7-149
Page 7-37