Nose wheel Steering

[MarinMooney]

I heard that also.  Not sure if my tanks have been fixed or not.  Thanks!

[salty]

On April 21, 2016 at 1:06 PM, Ratherbflying said:

You can tell if it's the linkages this way: Jack up the airplane. Grab the nose wheel and wiggle it to see how much play is in it. There should be close to none.

Also... Check the logbooks to see if/when the nose gear was tended to.

The Don Maxwell article above is great, this LASAR article gives you an idea of what can go wrong:

http://www.lasar.com/docs/mooney%20shock%20disc%20replacement%20and%20nose%20gear%20wear%20and%20tear-5.pdf

I thought it was a pilot issue too... It wasn't.

 

 

I've got the opposite situation. I'm pretty new to the plane, but I've not felt any shimmy or had any tracking issues that I've noticed, but I'm helping my A&P with annual and the amount of slop in the nose wheel when it's up on the jacks is remarkable. The thing will turn a good half inch. From what I've read on mooneyspace so far this does not seem normal.

[Guitarmaster]

On April 20, 2016 at 11:40 PM, MarinMooney said:

I am a new M20C owner.  I find the nose wheel steering to be much more sensitive than any other tricycle or tailwheel aircraft I have flown.  Is this common to Mooney's?  Besides experience, is there any way to mitigate the tendency to over control?

What everybody else said about the sloppiness or misalignment.... but.... whenever I take someone new up, I tell them to fly it like a taildragger doing a three-point and they won't have any problem; and they never do.  It is a sensitive airplane and you have to keep flying it all the way to the tie-down.  

Wait till the nice gusty crosswinds while taxiing.  I have had it weathervane (almost) off the taxiway.   That'll make you slow down your taxi speed!  Granted, the winds were gusting to 38kt.

Welcome to the best group of owners you could hope for!

[mike20papa]

I found a source of slop in the nose wheel linkage can be associated with a #10 machine screw that if not tightened fully allows the initial movement in the stearing linkage to have no effect on turning.  It is the only philips head fastener in this photo.  I replaced it with a AN3 bolt of similar length and with the hex head you can properly torque it and remove the play.  Made a big difference in ground handling.

[Patto]

On 4/20/2016 at 9:40 PM, MarinMooney said:

I am a new M20C owner.  I find the nose wheel steering to be much more sensitive than any other tricycle or tailwheel aircraft I have flown.  Is this common to Mooney's?  Besides experience, is there any way to mitigate the tendency to over control?

I'm also a new C owner and found that the steering was more sensitive than what I was used to. My previous experience was in Cessna 150's. Mooneys are more sensitive. Before you write a check, I'd give it a little time to try and get accustomed to the difference between the two airframes and the handling. Could just need a little time in that new plane to get used to the difference. Welcome to the family. The folks here really know what they're talking about. Their advice has been invaluable to me.

[Guest]

7 hours ago, mike20papa said:

I found a source of slop in the nose wheel linkage can be associated with a #10 machine screw that if not tightened fully allows the initial movement in the stearing linkage to have no effect on turning.  It is the only philips head fastener in this photo.  I replaced it with a AN3 bolt of similar length and with the hex head you can properly torque it and remove the play.  Made a big difference in ground handling.

That screw is installed per and SB on early Mooneys.  I'll look it up and post.

Clarence

[Guest]

Found the SB,

http://www.mooney.com/en/sb/M20-169.pdf

Clarence

[mike20papa]

Well, that's interesting.  Thanks Clarence!

[carusoam]

That is interesting.

nice photo...shiny hex bolt, black paint and fresh donuts!

The SB is a quick read too.  Thanks for posting that, Clarence.

Best regards,

-a-

[MB65E]

On September 2, 2016 at 8:28 PM, mike20papa said:

I found a source of slop in the nose wheel linkage can be associated with a #10 machine screw that if not tightened fully allows the initial movement in the stearing linkage to have no effect on turning.  It is the only philips head fastener in this photo.  I replaced it with a AN3 bolt of similar length and with the hex head you can properly torque it and remove the play.  Made a big difference in ground handling.

Holy Crap!! Is that really a picture of your airplane?! It looks factory new!! Slightly jealous! Well done!

-Matt