Rocket Nose steering

[Austintatious]

Hey everyone...  I just got the Rocket out of the shop and one order of business was the nose wheel.  It had a worn bushing and some other loose parts that was making landings pretty sketchy to be nice.  Everything was worked and the aircraft was flown multiple times at Dmax and I am assuming they were happy with it (they were the ones who squawked it in the first place.

The taxi behavior was way way better, However, when I landed the aircraft it was still pretty demanding on the pedals to control.  I was watching a video of some Mooney landings and non of them appeared to have much workload on the rudder pedals.

So Now I am wondering if I am doing something wrong.  I do recall that after touchdown I was holding back pressure ( all the horror stories of moooneys smashing props)... could this be the issue? 

Once the nose is on the ground should I be releasing all the back pressure to get some weight on the nose wheel?

Does it sound like it should go back to the shop?

Is a Rocket more busy on the pedals that mooneys with a lighter nose?

Could all the new rubber shock donuts be a factor?

 

Appreciate any help

 

Austin

[ArtVandelay]

If you have a go-pro camera or similar, you can mount it on the tail tie down ring, and check exactly what’s go on with the wheels. I did this myself:

Do you have any problem on takeoff?


Tom

[aviatoreb]

1 hour ago, Austintatious said:

Is a Rocket more busy on the pedals that mooneys with a lighter nose?

Not in my experience.  

[Austintatious]

48 minutes ago, ArtVandelay said:

If you have a go-pro camera or similar, you can mount it on the tail tie down ring, and check exactly what’s go on with the wheels. I did this myself:

 

Do you have any problem on takeoff?


Tom

 

That is a great idea.  I’ll see if I can find my go pro.

Do you have a landing video?

I don’t remember it being too bad on takeoff.

 

 

Edited July 16, 2019 by Austintatious

[ArtVandelay]

That is a great idea.  I’ll see if I can find my go pro.
Do you have a landing video?

The video above is of both.


Tom

[Austintatious]

5 hours ago, ArtVandelay said:

The video above is of both.


Tom

haha so it is... I swear just after the takeoff the video froze and i assumed it was over and moved on... I didn't even look at the time stamp I was so focused on that nosewheel!

[N201MKTurbo]

13 hours ago, Austintatious said:

Hey everyone...  I just got the Rocket out of the shop and one order of business was the nose wheel.  It had a worn bushing and some other loose parts that was making landings pretty sketchy to be nice.  Everything was worked and the aircraft was flown multiple times at Dmax and I am assuming they were happy with it (they were the ones who squawked it in the first place.

The taxi behavior was way way better, However, when I landed the aircraft it was still pretty demanding on the pedals to control.  I was watching a video of some Mooney landings and non of them appeared to have much workload on the rudder pedals.

So Now I am wondering if I am doing something wrong.  I do recall that after touchdown I was holding back pressure ( all the horror stories of moooneys smashing props)... could this be the issue? 

Once the nose is on the ground should I be releasing all the back pressure to get some weight on the nose wheel?

Does it sound like it should go back to the shop?

Is a Rocket more busy on the pedals that mooneys with a lighter nose?

Could all the new rubber shock donuts be a factor?

 

Appreciate any help

 

Austin

How fast are you touching down? If you do a full stall landing, the rollout is pretty short and slow. I know with the Rocket it takes a lot of back pressure to hold it off, but you can still do it.

[Austintatious]

Thank you everyone.  I had a few landings today and I really paid attention to things.  I believe I was simply over controlling.  The rudder is very sensitive, but if you take it easy on the pedals it tracks straight.  Seems like like 1/2" or less movements on the rollout.  I am crossing the numbers at 70 KIAS so I dont believe speed was  a factor.

 

The aircraft I fly professionally needs a lot of rudder input so I think it was just a case of lead feet.

[aviatoreb]

16 hours ago, N201MKTurbo said:

How fast are you touching down? If you do a full stall landing, the rollout is pretty short and slow. I know with the Rocket it takes a lot of back pressure to hold it off, but you can still do it.

That need for lots of back pressure is cured with a much lighter prop.

[aviatoreb]

4 hours ago, Austintatious said:

Thank you everyone.  I had a few landings today and I really paid attention to things.  I believe I was simply over controlling.  The rudder is very sensitive, but if you take it easy on the pedals it tracks straight.  Seems like like 1/2" or less movements on the rollout.  I am crossing the numbers at 70 KIAS so I dont believe speed was  a factor.

 

The aircraft I fly professionally needs a lot of rudder input so I think it was just a case of lead feet.

What do you fly for work?

[takair]

It could be the caster of the gear.  If the upper collar is upside down or you don’t have the SB kit consisting of a simple washer, a Mooney can be a handful (foot full) at times.  There is a measurement of the axle centerline that tells you this.  There is an article that describes it..  15 second ride or some such name.  Anyway, it sounds like that and is a simple fix.  Makes the plane feel like new.

[takair]

 

Here it is.  Clarence posted it some time ago.  It should be in your MM....but this SB gives you the idea.  It seems to be a solution to aircraft with sensitive nose wheels and some that shimmy.  The sensitivity changes with back pressure because the geometry changes...think shopping cart wheel....

 

[Austintatious]

That SB says my aircraft is not affected.   I will take a look none the less.

 

[Austintatious]

6 hours ago, aviatoreb said:

What do you fly for work?

A G650 ... And I should say that it doesnt really require a lot of force, just a lot of movement of the pedals (makes it easy to be smooth).  It is a Fly by wire aircraft, no direct linkages to anything, not even brakes.

 

and for fun I have a PIK20e  self launching glider... it is a tail dragger and it requires a fast and strong feet.

[takair]

10 hours ago, Austintatious said:

That SB says my aircraft is not affected.   I will take a look none the less.

 

Correct...I think they simply rolled it into the manual.  I know it doesn’t look like much, but that washer can make the difference between what you describe and feeling just right.  Might be worth having your mechanic check the next time it’s on jacks.....to level the plane.

[Austintatious]

I will certainly look... As I read that SB and look at the mechanism, it does not seem to make sense.  IT says if the distance between the rear of the plumb line and the center of the axle exceeds .060 (inches I assume) then you are to add the washer... but from the looks of it, adding the washer will INCREASE the distance between the plumb line and the axle center even further...  When it says "exceeds" do they mean it is even closer than .060? (ie the nosewheel further back than it should be)

 

[takair]

2 hours ago, Austintatious said:

I will certainly look... As I read that SB and look at the mechanism, it does not seem to make sense.  IT says if the distance between the rear of the plumb line and the center of the axle exceeds .060 (inches I assume) then you are to add the washer... but from the looks of it, adding the washer will INCREASE the distance between the plumb line and the axle center even further...  When it says "exceeds" do they mean it is even closer than .060? (ie the nosewheel further back than it should be)

 

Had to think about that.  The .06” dimension means the axle is more forward.  By adding the washer, it essentially compresses the shocks more and causes the axle to move aft more.  Essentially it trails more and makes it more stable during that point where the nose is light.  It’s as if there is more weight on the nose wheel....so it trails more.