New Nose Wheel Fin

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astaib
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by astaib »

Rich wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 4:10 pm
yl472401 wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 3:46 pm Lol, I took it off early due to concerns of damage to the wheel faring from improper towing by the facility and potential lateral factor from the cross wind as I was practicing as a student pilot. Getting ready to put it back on the wheel with the new fin.
Also, got a blown tyre two days right before the check ride. An afterthought was the lack of ability to check the landing gear tyre with the wheel fairing on. Any solution to this problem, Rich ?


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With the "fat" gear, enough of each tire is showing that I can visually and tactilely check the tires for adequate inflation. In case you doubt this can be done effectively, a couple of years ago I readily noticed when my right main tire was suddenly low. I put the plane up on jacks (which is what I do to pump up the tires) and couldn't find a puncture. It wasn't entirely flat, but down around 20 PSI. I pumped the tire up and it's been fine ever since. I never did figure out the cause. But the condition was readily apparent. I do have one of the brands of no-leak tube types on all the tires and they hold pressure amazingly well. The current tires/tubes are about 6 years old.
Hi Rich,

I'm interrested by the "no-leak tube", can you tell me what it is?
My tires are fine, but they are always loosing pressure very slowly and will stabilize but at lower pression than recommended..

Thanks.

Arnaud.
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Rich
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by Rich »

astaib wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 4:15 pm Hi Rich,

I'm interrested by the "no-leak tube", can you tell me what it is?
My tires are fine, but they are always loosing pressure very slowly and will stabilize but at lower pression than recommended..

Thanks.

Arnaud.
First of all, they're expensive. But so is wandering off into the weeds on touchdown. Michelin makes them, as well as other manufacturers. I have used the Michelins in the past, but the last tire change, (early '05), I believe I use the Flight Mate ones.

These all are of a form of rubber that is very low porosity. When I had my plane tied down outside (about 5 years) I would go months without checking the tire pressure. Now with a hangar, it's typically 2-3 months between checking. But since checking causes a loss of air, I top off the pressures as part of this exercise.

Google "aircraft tire leak-proof tubes" and shop around.
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by Lou »

:) I’ll jump into this thread drift!

When I picked up my plane in 2015 the mechanic told me that tire pressures should be monitored. They had a lot of issues with low inflation tires. I think it was mostly due to neglectful owners who buy a nice plane and never check anything. What happens is the tire spins on the rim and sheers the valve.

After I had the tires and tubes replaced, I have made a point of checking pressure at least once a month. I have also developed an eye and a feel (when hand towing) for low tire pressure. The lesson, all tires lose pressure over time. Usually they will drop 1-2lbs in a month.
Last edited by Lou on Thu Nov 26, 2020 2:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by Boatguy »

I have a little Milwaukee portable inflator and top up the tires every month when I update the databases. I learned from EVs that tire pressures are important.
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by Rich »

Lou wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:54 am :) I’ll jump into this thread drift!

When I picked up my plane in 2015 the mechanic told me that tire pressures should be monitored. They had a lot of issues with low inflation tires. I think it was mostly due to rich guy buys nice plane and never checks anything. What happens is the tire spins on the rim and sheers the valve.

After I had the tires and tubes replaced, I have made a point of checking pressure at least once a month. I have also developed an eye and a feel (when hand towing) for low tire pressure. The lesson, all tires lose pressure over time. Usually they will drop 1-2lbs in a month.
I'll take a bit of umbrage at the "rich guy ignoring things". My procedure is based on experience. The original tubes did require topping off every month or so. But I've found that to not be true with the no-leak versions. I more often react to change of seasons, hence ambient temperature. Keep in mind, also that I will loose 1-1/2 lb cold pressure by flying from my home base and parking at, say Portland, OR. Your tire pressures are not as constant as you think.
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by yl472401 »

Rich wrote:
Lou wrote: Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:54 am :) I’ll jump into this thread drift!

When I picked up my plane in 2015 the mechanic told me that tire pressures should be monitored. They had a lot of issues with low inflation tires. I think it was mostly due to rich guy buys nice plane and never checks anything. What happens is the tire spins on the rim and sheers the valve.

After I had the tires and tubes replaced, I have made a point of checking pressure at least once a month. I have also developed an eye and a feel (when hand towing) for low tire pressure. The lesson, all tires lose pressure over time. Usually they will drop 1-2lbs in a month.
I'll take a bit of umbrage at the "rich guy ignoring things". My procedure is based on experience. The original tubes did require topping off every month or so. But I've found that to not be true with the no-leak versions. I more often react to change of seasons, hence ambient temperature. Keep in mind, also that I will loose 1-1/2 lb cold pressure by flying from my home base and parking at, say Portland, OR. Your tire pressures are not as constant as you think.
ImageImageImage


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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by Lou »

Oops sorry - I’ll remove. It was meant to be playful not offensive.

Yes tire pressures change with temperature and altimeter too. There is a chart. In our winters you have to compensate for that. If I am flying at -15C, I will fill to 38lbs, for instance, in the hangar.
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by perossichi »

I’ve owned my da40 for 4 plus years and never had any problems with tire inflation. I check regularly but I never had to add air. I fly 150 plus hours a year and never had a problem in-spite of a very large number of landings.

I suspect there a lot or incorrectly installed inner tubes.
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by Boatguy »

And now returning to our original thread...

I've had mixed luck with adjusting my nose wheel tension to get the wheel to straighten out after TO. I have the shop do the adjustment, but it doesn't last too long. I've spent too many flights with one leg or the other needing to push a rudder pedal to fly straight. I can usually tell during the climb out what has happened. If I need a lot more right rudder, then I'll need right rudder during the flight. If I don't need much right rudder, I'll need left in flight. So on Friday I installed the fin.

Yesterday I flew three different legs on a Pilots 'n Paws mission O69/KMFR/KGOO/O69. No rudder needed, the plane flew straight ever time and I think I picked up a knot or two! I was at 12,000' and ISA ≈ +6. At 92% power the AFM says 149-150. I cruise at 85% and I was seeing 149-151. After my climb out from KMFR I left the climb power in and saw 153kts at 91% power.

Now I'm going to use an auto paint kit for the Mercedes color with a nice glossy clear coat, and a couple of button head screws as Rich suggests and it will look almost like Diamond had intended the fin to be there!
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Re: New Nose Wheel Fin

Post by yl472401 »

I noticed a few things that are different on your PFD comparing to what I saw on my diamond da40.
Image
1. The wind depiction graphic is different, yours showing head wind and cross wind separately, my shows a single arrow.
2. Looks like your PFD doesn’t have the DME soft key neither, which kinda solved my question about weather it should have a dedicated soft key or not. The fact that there’s DME information showing while using GPS Navi indicates that the DME is integrated with the GPS Navi and isn’t a separate unit.
3. Don’t have this on my PFD
4. How do you make the TMR showing up on the corner instead of a axillary window ? My timer shows up in an axillary window and covers the alarm window when in used. That could be a safety issue.
5. Does your PFD always how the ARTCC name on there ?
Finally , this is a picture of the front landing gear with fin installed. I noticed you have an extra padding under the fin, which is a good idea to protect the wheel fairing paint.
Image
Image


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