ROTOR SPINDLE ASSEMBLY WITH TAPERED INTERFERENCE JOINT

A spindle bearing assembly for a rotor blade, the assembly having a shaft extending from a hub and a housing for coupling the blade to the shaft. A ring is coaxial with the shaft and has a wall with a tapered external surface that narrows toward the outboard direction. The ring can be axially translated adjacent a tapered internal surface of the housing that also narrows toward the outboard direction. A spindle bearing coaxial with the shaft has a central aperture through which the shaft extends, the spindle bearing extending between the wall and the shaft. Threaded fasteners couple the ring to the housing, and rotation of the fasteners in a selected direction causes axial translation of the ring in the outboard direction, the engagement of the tapered surfaces causing the wall to move radially inward for creating an interference fit between the spindle bearing and the wall.