Nosewheel spring tension

[eloigorri]

Hi

 

 

Well the good news is that I passed my PPL here in Thailand last week in my Tecnam. The examiner loved it, (attributable to the quality of flying of course!! Haha)

 

 

I just love flying it, and have over 60 hrs in it now. 30 of them solo.

 

 

One gripe I have is that during straight and level flight, I have to keep my feet balanced on the rudder pedals all the time or it appears the nose wheel starts to wander and acts like a wind vane causing yaw. I looked under the nosewheel and can see two retaining springs and chain which appear to be used to keep the nosewheel straight, however when the nosewheel is straight these springs are slack, allowing play in the wheel.

 

 

Is this normal, or should these springs be under tension all the time?

 

 

Many thanks for any advice for what is a small gripe for an otherwise dream machine.

 

 

 

 

[slartibartfast]

Congrats on the achievement.

 

I can see why you kept the fire extinguisher handy.

 

You look hot!

 

Ross

 

 

[eloigorri]

haha, yes, it is very hot here in Thailand right now, but I am well used to it.

 

This pic was taken yesterday in Chiang Rai, near the Golden Triangle. I think I could have taxied right into the rear compartment of the C130!!

 

Great fun. The crew from the C130 were very inquisative about "Miss Dippy" After what they are used to, they found it hard to believe we could fit in it.

 

 

 

[Guest pelorus32]

Hi Eloigorri,

 

I fly a P92 Echo Super and this is my observation: when the nosewheel is straight ahead then the springs should be under equal tension - they are just tight and no more. In order to ensure that the nosewheel is straight and not pretending you need to pick the front of the a/c up to release any pressure.

 

When the nosewheel, & therefore the rudder, is turned then one spring will be a little slack and the other will be tighter.

 

Over time the springs do lose some of their tension but it doesn't seem to matter.

 

My experience is that you always need to hold some rudder on the Tecnam. Definitely not a feet off a/c. Basically it's a lot of rudder with a lot of power and less rudder with less power!!

 

Geat fun to fly though.

 

Regards

 

Mike