Help needed on how to reinsert the elevator pushrod in my XL Radian

[BigJon000]

I bought my Radian XL in November 2016.
Recently I got caught in a strong thermal just as I was about to land, crashed quite heavily and broke the fuselage in two places. It is now repaired and almost ready to put back in the air.
Before I started the repairs I removed all the electrics. I also removed the elevator control rod to make sure I didn't get any CA glue on it and now I can't get the control rod to pass all the way through the black reinforcing tube; it hits some obstacle at third points both from the rear and from the front.
The rod must pass through from the rear and though I've given it my best try I am not able to reinsert it.
I've searched for an answer on the RC sites but it seems I'm the first to have this issue so any help will be much appreciated.
John

[xviper]

Are you sure it’s the elevator pushrod? If I’m not mistaken, only the rudder pushrod that goes all the way through and out the end to the outside. The elevator pushrod ends up at the “bellcrank” that is buried and hidden inside the tail assembly.
If it is the “rudder” rod you’re dealing with, then it’s likely that the pushrod sheath was bent/crimped or even broken or cracked in the crash. If that’s the case, it will need to be replaced. Try using a flashlight to see if you see down the inside of the fuse where the pushrod gets stuck.

[BigJon000]

Thanks for replying. It is the elevator pushrod and it attaches to a bellcrank at the rear as you say.
Whether by design or by mistake, my XL came without an elevator pushrod sheath installed and that's my problem.

[xviper]

OK, now that we’ve got that clear and we are indeed talking about the elevator, do you have the bellcrank accessible (ie, exposed)? In order for you to pull the pushrod completely out, you had to have disconnected it from the bellcrank. Is that the case? Checking mine, the pushrod starts at the servo horn and runs into that cylindrical thing that has 3 white bands on it. Then it disappears into the tail of the plane and exits a channel just before the bellcrank, right? You can’t actually see inside the fuselage and follow all the way back but I think that there is no “sheath”, but just some supporting structures that guide the rod back. It’s not a straight path, so that’s where the rod is hard to thread into each supporting structure as it runs through the fuse. I’ve taken my first XL completely apart to salvage the internal components but it’s been a long time ago since I did that. I’ll have to take a look at the parts tomorrow to be able to tell you for sure what’s involved.

[xviper]

I had time to take a closer look at my XL and the parts I stripped out of a broken one. It looks like the XL has been discontinued but they still sell some parts for it. Here is a photo of the pushrod set from the parts list. The elevator is the one with the black sheath. If memory serves me correctly, I couldn't salvage the sheath because it was very brittle and when the plane crashed, the black sheath shattered in a couple of places, unlike the white sheath, which is a bit more solid. If yours has a shattered or broken black sheath, I can easily see where the wire pushrod will get stuck at those places where it might protrude out of the sheath and poke into the foam. I know that when they sell just the fuselage as a spare part, it comes complete with elevator pushrod, sheath and bellcrank as a complete assembly. It seems to me that replacing a broken elevator rod assembly can be quite a chore. Have tried to pull on the black sheath from both ends to see if it will move? If one end moves and the other won't, that may be a sign that the sheath is not continuous.

[BigJon000]

Thank you for your input Xviper. I appreciate the time you have taken to understand and try to solve my problem.

I can answer yes to each of your questions.

The XL EFL550 BNF Basic appears to be available here still, but out of stock at the moment with no ETA. All of the parts are available as spares.

The fuselage EFL5501 does not come with the pushrod set EFL5508 installed, that’s extra.

Recapping then:
I crashed,
I removed the electrics and the elevator bellcrank and pushrod. I must have removed the black 2.45mm OD fibre sheath too because I found it today among my bits and pieces. Just the end was split at the servo end.

I glued it all back together, then set about reassembling it all.

I tried first to insert the black sheath from the servo end, but although I could get it through the first hole at the end of the backbone, (the cylindrical thing that has 3 white bands on it) it was very tight because the hole is also ~2.45mm dia and it then bumped against a barrier at about 1/3^rd way along.

I tried to insert it through the last hole at the rear but couldn’t because of the angle of entry.

I can get the bare pushrod to pass on through the 1/3^rd point barrier but that’s as far as it will go because it then bumps against another barrier 2/3rds the way along.

I’ve tried sliding the sheath over the wire, inserting it and hoping to guide it through that way but unless the holes inside are considerably larger than the first and last holes then there is little hope of ever assembling it unless E-Flight know something I don’t.

But, maybe something inside was dislodged in the crash.

I’ve ordered a new fuselage and pushrod set from my retailer and if they’re OK I’ll cut this one open and look to see what the issue is. It could help someone else.

[xviper]

There must be left over stock in Australia. Here, in N. America, Horizon’s site says the XL has been discontinued. Most likely something new and improved is coming. Good that you found the black sheath. It’s too bad it’s so difficult to thread in there. Keep at it. I’m sure a little “blood, sweat and tears” will get it done. Have you considered using a slightly larger drill bit and reaming out the areas that are just too tight? Reaching those points is likely a big problem.
A flying buddy of mine had to buy a replacement fuselage the first year the XL came out. He didn’t say much about the repair so I just assumed the new fuse had the elevator assembly already installed. He must have stripped everything out of the old plane and transplanted it into the new.

[BigJon000]

I've ordered a new XL fuselage and canopy and it looks like it does come with the push rods installed so I'll be able to get back in the air pretty soon.

It will be a bit hot this week - mid 40s - but next week will be high 20s with reasonable winds so with AS3X and thermals popping all over the place the XL will be the preferred glider for the see-able future.

But there has to be a way of replacing the pushrods - in particular for the elevator otherwise why would they sell spares. Being a bit of a pedant I'll write to Horizon and ask what the story is.

Again, thanks for talking to me.

[xviper]

Glad you got it sorted out with a new fuse. The XL is my best performing sailplane after the Mystique RES. I hope Horizon will be able to tell you what you want to know. I sometimes think most of those CS guys don’t have many answers.