When I installed my latest pull-pull system, I decided to make use of a bit of modern technology... Lasers. In particular, I got one of those laser levels for Christmas this past year and found that they can be very beneficial when doing installations like the pull-pull. They shoot a perfectly straight line, which is also a perfectly flat plane. Most of the laser levels can be attached to a tripod. In this particular case the pull-pull servo was located in the cockpit area. I set the fuse upright on a flat table and placed the laser perpendicular to the fuse and shot a laser line along the side of the fuse... the line pases from where the servo arm is to the control horn. While the laser line is illuminated on the fuse, I placed a small piece of low stick masking tape in the area where the cable will exit the fuse (you could also use a dry erase marker), with the laser line riding on the top edge of the tape. (tape was about 3 inches long). I did the same for the other side of the plane. Now for step 2, I placed the fuse on the floor and mounted the laser level to a tripod. I placed the tripod so that the laser is directly over the pull-pull servo and again shot a line from the servo arm to the control horn. Where that laser line crosses the top edge of the tape is exactly where the hole should be drilled.

I tried this out as kinda an experiment, but found it worked easier and better than I expected...after I had drilled the holes they were EXACTLY in line. My control wires touch NOTHING between the servo arm and control horn... and there is nothing to measure and no long lines to draw. I criss cross my control lines.. incase it makes a difference when trying to figure out what I did.

As a side note, I have also discovered that the cheap key chain type laser pointers also come in handy for shooting down surfaces or through fuselages to find obstructions, nonconformities, or to mark a spot... it's like having a perfectly stiff wire that does not bend, but is much easier to use than a wire. And depending on what color your covering is, the laser can shine through all the transparant coverings, and white. This enables you to place a perfect dot on the surface from inside without any hassle at all. If it can be reached with the laser beam, a mark can be made on the outside at that point.

Happy pulling,
SkyBound

What a neat idea! I'll bet there will be all sorts of other applications too.

Thanks, the possibilities are many.
I know there is probably a lot of fliers out there with lasers that hardly ever get used ... so why not put them to use!

I have used one to shoot lines around a fuse and wings to get nice straight panel lines. They work great and are getting pretty cheap now.
Hans

What an excellent idea! I'll be buying a laser this weekend.

I bought a few laser pointers from here:

[link=http://members.aol.com/laserpointers/laser002.htm]Cheap Lasers[/link]

Hard to believe they're that cheap.

I've been using them to set my control throws. The grid shows degrees (Note: they are not equidistant from top to bottom). It is very easy to see a change as small as 1/8 degree.

It has been very useful in setting up my second aileron/differential, and flaperons.

One thing this exercise has shown me is the inadequacy of my servos/linkages. It's surprising to see this revealed in no uncertain terms using this setup.

Actually the laser pictured here is from the GP Laser Incidence meter. I'm now using the ones from the Cheap Laser site. They seem to have a better point.