A few builders have tried to deviate from the plans which specify having the aileron cable run on top of the wing out in the open wind. This is fine, but does add drag, and anything to decrease drag on an already draggy plane is certainly a good thing.

Keep in mind that you likely want to be aware of pulley diameter as to small of a diameter pulley could put too much strain on the cable. May not be critical for small planes that don’t fly all that much, but something to think about.

The following is taken from ‘PRACTICAL LIGHTPLANE DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION FOR THE AMATEUR’

…..”Use pulleys of at least 2 3/4″ outside diameter for all 90 degree bends in the cable to avoid frequent replacement of frayed cables. Suitable guards must be installed on all pulleys to prevent any possibility of the cable jumping off the pulley and jamming. Each control cable should have a turnbuckle of the same strength as the cable installed at one end for easy alignment of the controls”


“I made a pulley bracket out of 1/8″ aluminum and mounted it to the rear spar. My full size Piet has the pulley mounted to the front spar, but my RW1 fuel tank is located between ribs #1 and 2 and it’s needs to be right up close to the front spar, so that location would not work. The rear spar location worked out well… (Disregard the plain nuts as it needs to be removed for varnishing).” – Pete
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This is the setup used by Robbie Craig on his RW1 (Piet) Project.


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“Here is what I did on my RW6 which I think has the same wing as the RW1. I fabricated the pulley holder out of 4130 .060 for the sheet and 5/16 x 060 wall 4130 for the pivot bearing. The C channel on the workbench is the bracket that bolts to the hard-point on the rear spar. The extra bolt keeps the cable from jumping out.” It is bolted to the C-channel bracket on the rear of the spar. “I think this is better than the bent 1/8” aluminum. but it weighs more…” – Wayne McIntosh