Nose gear Problem

[rhanson]

The nosegear is starting to shimmy/wobble

again.

 

What is best way to raise the nose to

Work on the nosegear ?

 

I have a padded sawhorse-like brace,

 

but am not sure where to place it under

The cockpit.

 

Any suggestions ?

 

ThX

 

RH

[Doug G.]

I use a tube of sand on the rear fuselage. They are the kind sold to give weight to pickups.

[rhanson]

ThX

I will try that, how much weight ?

 

RH

Plenty of red rocks.

[Doug G.]

I think they are 40 lbs. I got two of them, but found I normally only need one. I put a piece of that foam like shelf liner stuff on to protect the fuse. Be careful because once it starts to go down it can bump the tail somewhat hard.

[Roger Lee]

Just throw a rope or strap over the tail. Place a pad under the rope.

[Doug G.]

Yup, that's another way. I didn't have anything to tie to, and I would have had to get some kind of weights anyway. This just seemed simple. I roll them from their storage space to the plane on a mechanic's stool.

[Tom Baker]

I use 2 cases of oil and a 1" ratchet strap.

[Runtoeat]

RH.  Weighing down the tail or supporting the front - both methods work.  I made a wood support which catches the fuselage at the firewall.  Please let me know what you find regarding your shimmy.  I have worked on this and fixed my CTSW and am curious as to what is causing your problem.

[rhanson]

$3.00 for 50 lb. sand bag from ACE solved the

"raise the Nose problem".

 

And now the Nose issue is solved.  

 

Pin and spacers were replaced in the nose wheel strut;

steering should be good for a few more years.

 

Thanks to all for advice and suggestions.

 

RH

135CT

[ct9000]

To hold the tail down I use the factory supplied strap and tie to a 20ltr. (5 gal ) plastic drum which I fill with water. This will hold it fine at the right height to work on the nose gear.

[cdarza]

Just to add - i too had the shimmy going on recently.  650hours on aircraft.     Replaced the pin today and shimmy is gone.

 

[cdarza]

Next is to try and fix my RIM wobble.   

 

[Roger Lee]

Replace the wheel. It's bent

[cdarza]

Replace the wheel. It's bent

That bad eh.?  Yeah, i was waiting for comments to inform me what to do.   That was a quick one.  Thanks Roger

[Anticept]

Replace it with a matco

 

Edit: i still have my nosewheel when I changed these out. Maybe you want it?

[Runtoeat]

Was going to say exactly the same as Corey and Roger but they beat me to it.  My Italian rim was bent.  A new Matco rim fixed the problem.  A secondary problem was my tire was flat spotted.  Replaced the tire when I put on my new Matco.  It is not uncommon to see front tires flat spotted.  This is caused by a cross wind draging the front tire across the runway if one lands with the front first before the mains. 

[Roger Lee]

Just call Matco and tell them you want a front wheel for the he Flight Design CT and ask for the 2 spacers. You can keep the same axle or buy a new one. The axle is up to you. About $100 for a new front wheel, but it is so much more beefier than the Marc and not near as likely to spin the tire and rip the tube stem out as the Marc.

 

Main wheels need to come with the Matco brake replacement.

[cdarza]

Replace it with a matco

 

Edit: i still have my nosewheel when I changed these out. Maybe you want it?

Appreciate the offer - i will be sending the new rim all the way to the Philippines so i will go ahead and order the Matco - Thanks again though. 

[Runtoeat]

cdarza, nice video.  Thanks for posting.

[Tom Baker]

Appreciate the offer - i will be sending the new rim all the way to the Philippines so i will go ahead and order the Matco - Thanks again though. 

 

Unless you have the tundra gear it probably wouldn't fit anyway.

[patrickwiering]

Hi,

 

I am new to this form and a recent owner of a CTLS.

I have problem with lots of vibration on the nose gear.

The tire is new, balanced the wheel but nothing has changed.

The only thing I can see is that there aren't any washers on top. According the manual there should be 3.

Where can I buy them and would that be the cause of pretty heavy vibration at 40kn?

 

Thanks

[Ed Cesnalis]

Do you  mean 40 knots?  For me that too fast for having your nose wheel in contact.

[Tom Baker]

If the wheel / tire is balanced, then look for looseness in the slide. Also check to make sure the steering arm on top is tight. You should also check rudder cable tension.

[Roger Lee]

If the tire is balanced then your problem is either the suspension guide pin or the slot it rides in is worn and this allows side to side tire movement. The other thing that could be adding to this is the red polyurethane spacers in the suspension are worn out. These are consumable products.

 

Lift the front tire off the ground and see if the tire move left and right more than 1/4". When you lift it up and down about an inch and set it down it should be firm and have no free play up and down.

 

Side to side movement is the pin and up and down is the spacers. You could have both as an issue. Both of these as you see are easy to check.

 

 

p.s.

Ed,

40 knots on the ground isn't too fast for these front ends. Most are over that at takeoff and most are over that at touchdown.

[Ed Cesnalis]

 

40 knots on the ground isn't too fast for these front ends. Most are over that at takeoff and most are over that at touchdown.

 

Its a better idea to take off from and land on the mains only.  Crosswind takeoffs in the CT are an exception.  I maintain that above 40knots your nose wheel shouldn't be in contact. Even if the front end can take it.