Speed brakes

[khedrei]

Reviving an old thread. 

I thought mine were vacuum powered which disappointed me because I wanted to go all electric and ditch the pump. So they will not deploy without the engine running, but the are red in colour and have a circuit breaker of 2 or 3 amps. Is that simply for the activation switch? Is it possible they are electric? Would it say on the STC?

[LANCECASPER]

10 minutes ago, khedrei said:

Reviving an old thread. 

I thought mine were vacuum powered which disappointed me because I wanted to go all electric and ditch the pump. So they will not deploy without the engine running, but the are red in colour and have a circuit breaker of 2 or 3 amps. Is that simply for the activation switch? Is it possible they are electric? Would it say on the STC?

If they won’t deploy with just the master on, they must be vacuum.

[Bryan]

On 11/2/2016 at 5:05 PM, kortopates said:

Good chance the Encores coming years later are electric.

Correct. My 252 Encore has anodized red aluminium electric speedbrakes.

[kortopates]

19 hours ago, khedrei said:

Reviving an old thread. 

I thought mine were vacuum powered which disappointed me because I wanted to go all electric and ditch the pump. So they will not deploy without the engine running, but the are red in colour and have a circuit breaker of 2 or 3 amps. Is that simply for the activation switch? Is it possible they are electric? Would it say on the STC?

You didn't say what year or model of the K you have. The vacuum still have a CB to operate the electrical relay and annunciator. There are some easy ways to tell in addition to what Lance suggested. If you have the Standby electric vacuum as most K's and all 252s & Encores do, verify they don't raise with just the master on but do raise with the electric standby vacuum on since that will provide the necessary vacuum to deploy them. Also you can get under the main wheels and look for a bicycle cable conduit traversing across the rear of the gear well area from the center belly to the speed brakes.

[khedrei]

Sorry, It's a 1980. Yes I do have a standby vacuum system so I will test that out and also check for the cable in the wheel well. Thanks for the tips. 

Does anyone know how extensive the conversion to electric is? I know the price of the kits, but is the install easy because the holes and mounting areas are already there? Same size and configuration etc? 

[PT20J]

My 1994 J had electric Precise Flight speed brakes installed at the factory. They’ve been sent back to Precise Flight for overhaul a couple of times by previous owners. They are painted red and the paint looks original. Seems like most of you have red anodized. Does anyone know why mine might be painted instead of anodized?

Skip

 

[Davidv]

I have the precise flights on my 1992 bravo.  Occasionally when I retract them they will stay up less than a centimeter (about the same height as the rivets around them).  Not enough to cause much of an aerodynamic loss, but just enough to annoy me.  Has anyone had a similar issue? I’m also concerned may be a sign of issues to come with the electric motor.

[DonMuncy]

Not a terribly uncommon problem. Back to Precise Flight for a rebuild. Nice folks to deal with. Not cheap, but not horrible either.

[kortopates]

1 hour ago, PT20J said:

My 1994 J had electric Precise Flight speed brakes installed at the factory. They’ve been sent back to Precise Flight for overhaul a couple of times by previous owners. They are painted red and the paint looks original. Seems like most of you have red anodized. Does anyone know why mine might be painted instead of anodized?

Skip

 

Earlier ones were painted before they went to anodized at some point.

[Warren]

16 hours ago, khedrei said:

Sorry, It's a 1980. Yes I do have a standby vacuum system so I will test that out and also check for the cable in the wheel well. Thanks for the tips. 

Does anyone know how extensive the conversion to electric is? I know the price of the kits, but is the install easy because the holes and mounting areas are already there? Same size and configuration etc? 

I called and asked about replacing my vacuum ones.  The answer I got is that the mounting locations are different and the replacement process is to patch the holes in the wing then cut new holes for the electric speed brakes.  I kept the vacuum pump.

[ArtVandelay]

I have the precise flights on my 1992 bravo.  Occasionally when I retract them they will stay up less than a centimeter (about the same height as the rivets around them).  Not enough to cause much of an aerodynamic loss, but just enough to annoy me.  Has anyone had a similar issue? I’m also concerned may be a sign of issues to come with the electric motor.

Yes
I had my AP clean and lube them...they’ve worked fine since.


Tom

[Davidv]

4 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

Yes
I had my AP clean and lube them...they’ve worked fine since.


Tom

Thanks Tom. That’s what I’m hoping does the trick too. 

[chrisk]

On 11/3/2016 at 4:11 PM, Bob_Belville said:

Sort of in keeping with manual gear and hydraulic flaps, when Speed Brakes were added to N943RW in 1997 the owner chose manual Speed brakes by Precise Flight Inc STC SA5708NM. The actuator is the lever on the floor, beside the trim wheel.

We lube at annual but have never had to do more. I wonder what experience other owners of manual SB have had?  

 

I've got the same cable setup in my 1981 231.   As I recall, the speed brakes are naked aluminum and have no extra coloring.  I've never had an issue with them, other than a mechanic placarding them "Electrically Actuated --Do not manually operate".