Ever since my annual inspection last January, the L-4 has been squirrely. By that I mean that there just seemed to be some difficulty with directional control during both take off and landing. I'd thought that maybe my toes had come out of calibration, but no amount of pattern work seemed to make much difference. It made for some minor excitement more than once!
I put the tail of the aircraft up on a stand but everything about the tail wheel, springs, and linkages were as they should be.
Then, I noticed the other day that immediately after liftoff the tires did not continue to spin as they normally do. On jacking the aircraft wheels off of the ground one at a time, I found significant drag in the rotation of each wheel. I readjusted each axle nut until there was just barely any drag, and then backed it off one castlation, as I understand should be done.
Could this have been the problem, or am I just all wet?
The problem now seems to be solved. The aircraft is tracking straight and true and it's a joy to fly again. Anyway, you might mentally file this one away for future reference.
Every few years I have the annual service done professionally, believeing that it's a good idea to have eyes and hands other than mine on the aircraft. This was the year.
I put the tail of the aircraft up on a stand but everything about the tail wheel, springs, and linkages were as they should be.
Then, I noticed the other day that immediately after liftoff the tires did not continue to spin as they normally do. On jacking the aircraft wheels off of the ground one at a time, I found significant drag in the rotation of each wheel. I readjusted each axle nut until there was just barely any drag, and then backed it off one castlation, as I understand should be done.
Could this have been the problem, or am I just all wet?
The problem now seems to be solved. The aircraft is tracking straight and true and it's a joy to fly again. Anyway, you might mentally file this one away for future reference.
Every few years I have the annual service done professionally, believeing that it's a good idea to have eyes and hands other than mine on the aircraft. This was the year.
