• Welcome aboard HomebuiltAirplanes.com, your destination for connecting with a thriving community of more than 10,000 active members, all passionate about home-built aviation. Dive into our comprehensive repository of knowledge, exchange technical insights, arrange get-togethers, and trade aircrafts/parts with like-minded enthusiasts. Unearth a wide-ranging collection of general and kit plane aviation subjects, enriched with engaging imagery, in-depth technical manuals, and rare archives.

    For a nominal fee of $99.99/year or $12.99/month, you can immerse yourself in this dynamic community and unparalleled treasure-trove of aviation knowledge.

    Embark on your journey now!

    Click Here to Become a Premium Member and Experience Homebuilt Airplanes to the Fullest!

AN Hardware / fasteners best practices and standards

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

mcurcio1989

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2013
Messages
178
Location
Toledo
I have been doing a lot of research and reading lately on the best practices and standards for aircraft fasteners (understanding as E-AB we do not have to comply). I want to comply with the standards because, as I see it, they are they to allow the highest degree of safety for certified aircraft and I see no reason to compromise on my build. From what I have read, my understanding is that AN365 elastic stop nuts should be used on every nut that joins a member that is not allowed to rotate and/or not subject to temperatures above 250F, AN363 all-metal stop nuts should be used in locations that are subject to heat above 250F but not rotation, finally AN310 castle nuts, with appropriate cotter pins, should be used in any location where the fastened member is free to rotate or move. Please correct me if I am wrong. Where it gets hazy for me is on the use / re-use of stop nuts. Certainly there must be a standard on this. From what I have read the all-metal stop nuts are typically considered to not be re-usable while the elastic stop nuts may be re-used to a degree. What is the standard or best practice on this.

I am building an Aventura II amphibious airplane from a kit. This is built like an ultralight using bent aluminum tubing held together with AN hardware. If you are familiar with the Sea Rey, the construction is extremely similar. The vast majority of the fasteners are AN3 and AN4 bolts with appropriate SS washers and AN363 all metal stop nuts. The kit has always been supplied with these and as of now castle nuts with cotter pins are not used anywhere (From my understanding this is changing soon). My concern is that the metal stop nuts tend to remove the Cad plating on the bolt and in a sea plane I want as much corrosion protection as possible (nylon offers better protection against corrosion). Do any of you have an idea as to why the designers of this kit would have used all metal stop nuts? Is there an advantage I am un-aware of?
 
Back
Top