Seemingly Stiff Elevator Control

[MBDiagMan]

I just moved from a ‘63 C to a 66 F.  I had gotten familiar and comfortable with the C.  Many things are alike on the F and a few things are seemingly to me much different.  A friend of mine has an F with a three axis auto pilot, assumedly a Britain.  I flew it before buying mine and the controls, at least the elevator seemed really stiff as opposed to my C that had no autopilot at all. 

Now that I have MY F, it has a non functional PC.  It has heck for stiff elevator control.  It is giving me difficulty getting used to it.  It seems that it is as if you run the elevator with the trim wheel rather than the yoke.  The controls on my C with no autopilot are almost as floppy as those on my little Cessna 140.  

Would removing the Britain components have anything to do with this?  Would fixing the autopilot, if I could find parts, have anything to do with this?

Has anyone ever experienced this or should I just throw in the towel and send in my pilot certificate.

Thanks in advance for your comments and sha4ing your experience.

[lamont337]

Does it feel the same on the ground as it does in flight?

[takair]

Would start with lube.  It does make a difference.  In particular, I find the the yoke shaft feed through the panel makes a difference.

[N201MKTurbo]

2 hours ago, takair said:

Would start with lube.  It does make a difference.  In particular, I find the the yoke shaft feed through the panel makes a difference.

Plus 2

Most Mooneys are not properly lubed. It makes a huge difference.

Remember a greasy Mooney is a happy Mooney!

[kmyfm20s]

Clean off the old 40 year old grease brefore applying the new grease the best you can. I know every time my plane comes out of annual the crntrol feel noticeable more lubed then it slowly reverts back but never have been unusually stiff.

[cliffy]

Lube lube lube then check under your panel to see if anything is holding the yoke from moving- wire bundles, radio rack slipping, etc. My guess is that proper lube and checking under the panel will solve the issue

[MIm20c]

I assume it’s well lubed as you just picked it up from DM. The control forces feel a lot different from my C to a long body. Never been in a mid body so I can’t comment on that. 

[Yetti]

Lube...  And in flight with the Brittian on it is pretty stiff, but you only need small movements to make things happen.   There should be a way to turn the Brittian off.  Switch or Plunger.

[N201MKTurbo]

The elevator control system changed at least three times through the different models. There were bungees with springs, bungees without springs and bob weights. They all feel different. 

[RobertGary1]

I find the elevator on the C to require less force than my F, especially pulling back while taxiing. 

-Robert 

[Danb]

A chance the yoke block, eyeball unit needs lubing or the eyeball is stuck,, mine was, DMax and Weber never saw one seized if so replacement is necessary. A real pia.

[Prior owner]

What should be used to lubricate the yoke bushing in the panel? My manual shows a symbol (circle with cross inside) but doesn’t specify what that particular symbol represents...

[Andy95W]

3 hours ago, PilotCoyote said:

What should be used to lubricate the yoke bushing in the panel? My manual shows a symbol (circle with cross inside) but doesn’t specify what that particular symbol represents...

Powdered graphite- but you're right, it takes some puzzling through it to get the answer.

The legend shows 2 circles, neither have a cross inside.  The other circle is labeled 5606 hydraulic fluid and is used for the hydraulic reservoir. 

Additionally, Revision D of the Service Manual from 1981/83 shows the symbol correctly and says either powdered graphite or Tri-Flow teflon spray.

[Prior owner]

Thanks!