Originally Posted by
go_hercules
A general EZ question. Most of the EZ arfs as I recall used a single elevator servo with the forked pushrod (wood dowel with a metal rod at one end and two metal rods out to the elevator). I am putting together a Chipmunk like this and the setup is not at all stiff. You can grab either elevator and flop it around. At the very least, I think I will have to put a wood plate somewhere along the pushrod to keep it from flexing sideways with a load on the elevator. Whole setup seems cheesy.
I never did anything about it as I remember but agree with your concern - I would have to do what you're considering nowadays - immobilizing the "sideways" movement of the pushrod by running through a bulkhead with a bearing hole the diameter of the pushrod like you said... A colleague and ex-pattern type I know suggests extending the pushrod out beyond the V-portion of the Y and use this section to act as the immobilizing feature thus dispelling any concern of vibration over time that could eventually wear the pushrod in half in the critical area between the elevator and the servo.