kick down springs

P

planebones

New member
After reading the BC contact magazine article in January about weak kickown springs I tested mine and they were much weaker than the test mensioned by the author. Got new one from AAC for a mere $165. Wow ....they are much stronger and longer and were dificult to install. I ordered the large brass bushings for the upper gear (where the lower leg slides up and down, but they were out of stock and will have to be machined. N9842B is hard to control on rollout after you lose rudder effectiveness, so I am wondering if the springs on the rudder to tailwheel cables have became weak or just need to be tightened to give me more tailwheel effectiveness. Does anyone have any experience with fiddling with these impossible to reach springs? thanks Ken
 
Ken, I have messed with these springs. When I bought the crate someone removed the springs and the rudder cables were attached directly to the tailwheel. I had the crate on a grass field at the time-but when we transitioned to pavement what a shock. That is how I discovered some A hole removed them. I ordered a set from AAC and proceeded to install them. I knew I would recover this plane so I opened the fabric to install them. Didn't need much to open and the important thing to remember is put the springs under tension. Not much is required and I have not any problems since. It has been years. Lynn the crate
 
Ken, you have just received some valuable feedback from Lynn. All that I can add is a comment about the main gear alignment. After you replace the bushings you want to make sure that the "toe-in" / "toe-out" alignment is within spec. This can affect the ground handling. The alignment is set by adjusting the stack-up of washers in the scissors mechanism. Tire pressure has an affect on rollout handling too. Keep us posted!
 
Does anyone have the toe-in spec for the 14-19-2 main gear? That issue could be the key to my difficulties............thanks for the wise input! Ken
 
Ken, to my knowledge there is no clearly published spec on the toe-in setting, although somewhere there may have been a service bulletin on this subject. There have been occasional discussions here on the forum. However the generally accepted procedure to adjust the toe alignment is to use a long straight-edge, positioned on the wheel rim, to project the alignment several feet in front of the wheel position. Then measure the distance to the fuselage centerline - compare this to both left and right gear. Admittedly this is a rather crude method compared to the laser equipment used by automotive alignment shops. I have thought about attaching a laser level to the wheel rim and shooting the dot on a board - just an idea that I haven't put into practice yet.

Now, regarding the correct setting... a toe-in setting will generally provide better straight-line stability at the penalty of less responsive steering. Toe-out is going to provide quick steering response but straight-line stability is not good. To start with the most important issue is to get both sides equal. I would start with a good evaluation of your existing alignment - just remember if your bushings are worn you won't be able to get good alignment results. Maybe some others can offer more insight. --Rob
 
I'm doing crate Annual and would like to elaborate on the kickdown springs. The Bellanca p/n is:18203-4 and the free length should be a min. of 15 1/2 inches. You have a problem if after the gear is retracted and you select down gear, it should free fall into overcenter two green lights. If you have to manually pump it into overcenter the problem is the springs. These are not to hard to pull check or change. I made a tool from a 3/4 wood dowel notched the top with a 5/16 groove. This allows you to push the spring into the housing and insert the bushing and bolt. In a pinch you could use a spacer to make it go over center freefall The POH says it should freefall into overcenter a 80mph.. I bought a set from AAC in 2003. I can't stress it enough, the gear is the weak link on the Cruisemaster! Lynn the crate
 
i watch the hydraulic pressure gauge. if i don't hear the thunk before the pressure builds, i know it's binding. thats at 120. i wish there was a way to check emergency gear extension in flight other than that and to watch the greens. when i got this plane the gear was binding bad. it was hard to even pump down. of course, at that time the o-ring on the emergency gear handle was leaking and it wasn't building much pressure. but it shouldn't take any. thanks to this forum and some reading the old literature i got with this plane, i think i've got my gear pretty well stowed away after taking it apart and putting it back together several times. do any of you cheat on the gear extension speed? i did on my way home with it, before i read the manual. i didn't know i was cheating, i just kind of figured 140 would be ok, and it was i guess. nothing fell off anyway.

i always figured the main gear springs, pulling on the cable that compresses them, play a big part in making the gear fall down. the down pressure springs help, but mainly make sure the overcenter is secure. so if you have short springs, don't bounce and you should be ok.

i also wish you could drop the gear at higher speeds, it really takes a lot of planning to get slow enough to extend the gear when you get where you are going.

other than that, i got no complaints.

i'm still planning to go to oshkosh this year, in the bellanca. i've never been and i figure i ought to go once before i die. hope to see some of you there.

bobg

ps i got the adsb beacon for my rv. since it was back ordered, of course i missed the rebate. installation is very easy, took me longer because i had no tail light installed and i had to run a wire to the rudder, which meant taking out all the innards. still, a couple of hours tops. it works, according to atc and the internet. maybe someday i'll get one for the bellanca. no hurry. i rarely fly in airspace where it will be required.
 
I always get mine below 124 to lower the gear but it is hard to get it that slow. I often end up climbing slightly to get to gear speed. Then getting to the 85mph flap speed is another challenge that can extend my downwind if I don’t plan ahead enough, or if St Louis approach keeps me at 2500ft until I am directly over the top of Creve Coeur (just saying). :shock:

I am trying to make Oshkosh this year. Last year I had my tent and sleeping packed in the baggage compartment then during preflight I found my spinner mounting plate had cracked. It was a depressing week looking up at the sky while a long stream of warbirds and RVs flew west over my house. Thanks to Rob I was back in the air in record time but Oshkosh was over.
 
Glad to here our planes will be represented at OSH. For more fun join the group meeting the at Watertown Friday and departing to OSH Saturday at 1100. Stay tuned for more info.
 
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