Doug G. Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 Getting fluid in and the air bubbles out IS bleeding...It is tough to do on the CT.Although I agree with the first part of your statement - how many times have you personally bled the brakes in a CT? Are you pretending to be an expert again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbigs Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 Although I agree with the first part of your statement - how many times have you personally bled the brakes in a CT? Are you pretending to be an expert again? I have detailed this before...the master cylinder went bad in the first 10 hours...the brakes failed on a touchdown, luckily the runway was long enough to coast and get off without an incident... We took the plane to an A&P to be looked at suspecting it was a brake fluid issue. The mechanic could not figure out how to bleed the brakes. We then contacted the Jet Center in Santa Rosa and they flew a mechanic out to work on it under warranty. The mechanic brought his special little tools and brake fluid and the replacement part and did the job. Duing that work he explained that the brakes on the CT are harder to bleed if you don't have experience with the way the system is setup. Roger has experience so he can help others figure it out if they want to do this task themselves. I have no interest in doing it myself...I am only passing along the comments of a mechanic that did the work and does have experience with it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 What could cause someone a possible issue is if you have the brake lever back just a 1/4"+ and this will not allow fluid to pass. So long as it is all the way forward the break system is an open circuit and should not have any restrictions. Just attach the pressure style bleeder to the bottom of the nipple on the caliper. Open it up about 1 turn and pump away. It should flow right through the system and into the reservoir. The toughest system on the market to bleed is a Gobosh with 4 brakes and calipers that can not be flowed from the bottom and can only be partially done from the top and has no published way to accomplish a bleed. Don't ask how I know. I may publish that one day. Biggest PITA I have ever done. Good thing there isn't many around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 The landing gear rubber cushion area seems to need occasional inspections to make sure all is OK. Noises during taxi over bumps or during rough field landings are indication the gear needs some TLC. As Corey posts, if this condition is not fixed, the landing gear itself can be permanently damaged. My friend's CTLS landing gear was loose and inspections showed the rubbers had dislodged and these were reinstalled. The gear legs showed marks where they were rubbing the fuselage. Within a year, this happened again. This time, the repair included gluing the rubbers in with contact adhesive - believe it might have been the 1300L. It was necessary to add additional shimming rubber to custom fit the rubber to the pocked where these go. I imagine that all CT's are slightly different and there is not a "one size fits all" here. No problems with re-loosening so far. Where are these rubber pieces located? My CT makes some squeaky noises taxiing, I'd like to check these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger Lee Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 Hi Andy, The squeaks are just the plastic areas rubbing. It's normal and more so in an SW. Just sing louder when you taxi and you won't hear it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Baker Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 Where are these rubber pieces located? My CT makes some squeaky noises taxiing, I'd like to check these. The rubber pieces are in the landing gear saddle for the composite gear on the LS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 Hi Andy, The squeaks are just the plastic areas rubbing. It's normal and more so in an SW. Just sing louder when you taxi and you won't hear it. Cool, thanks! You really don't want me singing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted June 20, 2015 Report Share Posted June 20, 2015 The rubber pieces are in the landing gear saddle for the composite gear on the LS. Ah, so doesn't apply to SW? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Cesnalis Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 My SW makes those noises, I choose to not hear them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 Maybe there is an upside to tinnitus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 Eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted June 21, 2015 Report Share Posted June 21, 2015 Where are these rubber pieces located? My CT makes some squeaky noises taxiing, I'd like to check these. Maybe she's just really excited to go fly and is vocalizing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philip Welsch Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Any chance you can post photo of the gear cracks? PRW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Any chance you can post photo of the gear cracks? PRW As a note: any cracks are cause for rejection and they cannot be repaired. Here's the one we found on ours (sanded down to see the depth of the crack): Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gbigs Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 Wow. That's a serious chunk of damage to the strongest part on the plane. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted June 22, 2015 Report Share Posted June 22, 2015 It was hidden inside of the socket too a couple inches back. I am dumbfounded on how this area could have possibly cracked. The other leg was clean at least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Downs Posted June 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Are the legs all composite or is there piece of metal in the middle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anticept Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 All composite, with maybe a wood block for the wheels. Also, if you guys didn't know: the ribs in the wings are also fabric on wood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Runtoeat Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Corey, are there any clues that would tell if this crack is due to fatigue, manufacturing defect or a hard landing? Wondering if this could be due to hard landing? Since this is inside, might be an area where forces from a hard landing are focused in the gear midspan between the point where it is bolted to the fuselage and the fulcrum formed by the rubber contact point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Are the legs all composite or is there piece of metal in the middle? Both my Grummans, my Cirrus and now my Sky Arrow had/have composite legs. None have metal cores that I know of, nor should one be necessary if the composite gear is properly designed. As an aside, a friend found cracks around the bolt holes in the composite gear on his Sky Arrow. I believe the Sky Arrow at Chesapeake Aviation had gear issues as well. So far, after about 7 years and 400 hours mine still look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Both my Grummans, my Cirrus and now my Sky Arrow had/have composite legs. None have metal cores that I know of, nor should one be necessary if the composite gear is properly designed. As an aside, a friend found cracks around the bolt holes in the composite gear on his Sky Arrow. I believe the Sky Arrow at Chesapeake Aviation had gear issues as well. So far, after about 7 years and 400 hours mine still look good. Chesapeake is a flight school IIRC, they are probably rougher on the gear in a week than you are in a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Al Downs Posted June 23, 2015 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I replaced the leg yesterday. Not too bad of a job but it did cost about 2K. 1600 hrs of students so I guess it held up fairly well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 Chesapeake is a flight school IIRC, they are probably rougher on the gear in a week than you are in a year. Very true. I really only recall one landing in my Sky Arrow I would classify as "hard" - I let a Mooney pilot friend land it and he managed to baloon and drop it in from a couple feet. My fault - I should have taken control sooner. But a plane used for instruction many student solos certainly receives far more abuse on a regular basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyingMonkey Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 I don't know if I've had a "hard" landing in my CT, but I have had a bunch of "firm" ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FastEddieB Posted June 23, 2015 Report Share Posted June 23, 2015 One way to tell: Do you still have all your fillings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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