ORIGINAL: pete913
Personally I don't like 'em. I've seen more than one instance where a mild crash that did little if any damage to the airplane sheared off every single robart hinge on it even though none of the flight control surfaces were damaged at all. My vote goes to the dubro type hinges or even sig easy hinges over robarts.
I have never seen a Robart brand hinge sheared off either. Of course the main idea is not to crash your plane. If it is crashed, what difference does it make if the hinges are sheared off? Are you going to re-use them? Personally, I would not re-use any part of an airplane that had been exposed to the extreme loads encountered in a crash (exception being powerpland and radio gear)(I would even send the radio gear back to be checked out prior to using again). The cost of replacing these parts in minimal compared to losing a plane due to an overstressed part failing with subsequent re-use.
Bill, AMA 4720