Park Brake issue

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chominet
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by chominet »

Hi everyone
Yes, it happened to me, and my aircraft was grounded last march in Salzburg for that reason.
They added this plastic tube to guide the metal wire, so it does not bend, it is just increasing the wire guidance for 3 centimeters.
But it is not the only problem, they changed on my aircraft the valve itself because even after disconnecting the valve totally from the wire and actuating it by hand it stayed stuck. After inspection, the valve had, after just 110 hours, some wear out signs inside, that is what the Diamond guys told me, they just flew over from Wiener Neustadt to fix the plane.
This parking brake release seems to be a weak point because I always applied some pressure to release or look the brakes.
I did not have another issue on my plane since the change, and it has 270hrs on the hobs...
Serial DA62-098
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Ed McDonald
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by Ed McDonald »

I experienced the stuck parking brake today. Tried to release the parking brake the lever would not go up and stay there but moved 1/3 of the way back down. Parking brake is stuck on. Fortunately, I was not jamming up a busy taxiway.

I spoke with the Diamond AOG service (Paul) and he told me that this has been occurring. And, as described in this thread, the cable gets a kink in it and it's done. Diamond is working a fix. He also said there an amendment to the AFM telling pilots how to release the parking brake - apply manual brake pressure with your feet then release the parking brake. Too little, too late for our flight today.

So, how does one release the parking brake so you can move the aircraft? Tried bleed the brake line at the brake to relieve the pressure - hydraulic fluid came out but no luck. Plan B worked - loosen the four bolts on the red brake assembly (7/16ths) so the brake pucks are no longer contacting the brake (see attached photo).
Brake Assembly.jpg
While I was pleased with a Diamond service individual answering the phone on a Saturday morning, I am not too pleased about this recurring problem not being fixed nor the amendment to the AFM not being promulgated. Nor missing the flying I have planned today and any other flying until this gets fixed.

These are the kind of issues that need to get resolved with Diamond Aircraft and hopefully the new pilot's association will help improve the lines of communication.
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Rich
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by Rich »

Ed McDonald wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:58 pm So, how does one release the parking brake so you can move the aircraft? Tried bleed the brake line at the brake to relieve the pressure - hydraulic fluid came out but no luck. Plan B worked - loosen the four bolts on the red brake assembly (7/16ths) so the brake pucks are no longer contacting the brake (see attached photo).Brake Assembly.jpg
Cleveland-style brake calipers have 2 pins that protrude into guides close to the wheel axle. These pins need to slide freely. They pins/guides can get a bit munged up due to rubber dust or whatever causing the brake caliber to hang and hold the pads against the disk.

I just dealt with similar though not quite as serious issue with my DA40 left brake dragging. It wasn't locked up, but it held continuous pressure against the disk so it would not rotate freely. To free it required pushing with the palm of my hand on the caliper body you are looking at in your photo. This forces the piston to retract a bit into the caliper body and fluid back into the line. In my case there is only one piston, whereas you have 2, so you need to be sure you push against both (perhaps in turn).

I also use this technique when I'm preparing to change brake pads on the plane or my motorcycle.
Last edited by Rich on Sat Jun 04, 2022 10:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
2002 DA40-180: MT, PowerFlow, 530W/430W, KAP140, ext. baggage, 1090 ES out, 2646 MTOW, 40gal., Surefly, Flightstream 210, Orion 600 LED, XeVision, Aspen E5
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Boatguy
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by Boatguy »

Ed McDonald wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:58 pmPlan B worked - loosen the four bolts on the red brake assembly (7/16ths) so the brake pucks are no longer contacting the brake.
You carry a set of wrenches? Interesting that it is imperial and not metric.
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Rich
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by Rich »

Boatguy wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 10:24 pm
Ed McDonald wrote: Sat Jun 04, 2022 6:58 pmPlan B worked - loosen the four bolts on the red brake assembly (7/16ths) so the brake pucks are no longer contacting the brake.
You carry a set of wrenches? Interesting that it is imperial and not metric.
Cleveland (Now Parker-Hannifin) wheels and brakes have always been a USA product line.

BTW, it's supposedly a big no-no to overtighten those bolts when reinstalling. There are model-specific torque settings you need to look up. Generally they're of the order of 70-90 inch pounds.
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by Flyingferg »

Hi Ed,

What do you know about this new Diamond Pilots Association that you have referred to? I wasn’t aware of it.

Thanks
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Ed McDonald
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by Ed McDonald »

Myself and a few others are working on it. We should be able to announce something by mid month. The idea is to create an association to represent Diamond Aircraft owners and pilots. While the dealers and big purchasers of Diamond aircraft have a voice with the manufacturer individual aircraft owners do not. Collectively we will.
The idea is not to be confrontational but to work in a cooperative manner to further everyone’s interests.
Many aircraft have owner associations - Cirrus, Piper, etc but this forum seems to be the only means of communication among Diamond owners. We want to build on this forum and create an organization that provides more information for owners, a better conduit to communicate with Diamond, perhaps organize social events, fly-ins, etc.
If you or anyone else would like to lend a hand drop me a PM and we can add you to the steering committee.
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by Davestation »

FWIW the parking valve is semi-accessible by removing the pilot side center column trim panel - there's a cutout in the composite structure to get to that end of the cable for replacement. If the lever end jams or the cable bends, you could remove this trim and manually push the parking valve lever open to release the brakes.

P.S. We had a couple planes that locked up like this repeatedly when new - it seemed like the parking valve was rigged over-center and with the flex/heat/etc. it wouldn't quite open by releasing the parking lever. We adjusted the cable stop by a mere 1/8" and that solved it for us without having to stomp on the brakes before releasing the parking brake going forward (although that procedure makes good sense too).
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by MarkO »

If you have a brake dragging, even a small amount, your takeoff performance will be adversely affected. The degradation in acceleration may even make your field length calculations invalid. Also reading the various posts on this topic reinforces why it is not wise to play around with the parking brake lever in flight - in case you can't get it to release.
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Ed McDonald
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Re: Park Brake issue

Post by Ed McDonald »

Even worse than degraded take-off performance is hot brakes going into the wheel well where hydraulic fluid may be present = fire.
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