Nosewheels - to steer or not to steer?

[Bob Cotsford]

here's the background:

I've always gone with a steerable nosewheel on tricycle undercarts with no real problems up to now - until the I landed the Tornado hot last tuesday and in turning the model at high speed to avoid the hedge I snapped the steering link to the nose retract. It was an Irvine mechanical unit with a plastic arm for the steering link. I'd got an E-Flite 120 size nose unit lying around so I swapped the mechanical retract + servo + wire link for the electric unit. So far so good, very little in the way of mods needed except that when fitting the unit I must have caught the sliding pillar for the steering link which snapped off. This takes the form of a 2mm-ish machine screw (plain shank) on which the link slides. I can only assume it must have been too brittle, as it snapped at the end of the in the tiller arm. Too small to drill, and it's broken off flush.

I don't want to go into whether or not Horizon should replace the unit!

Do I bother with fixing the steering or just lock it straight ahead and rely on rudder power?

Opinions please

Edited By Bob Cotsford on 02/05/2013 11:58:45

[andy watson]

Well the obvious response from me is what happens next week when you do the same thing again- but this time without the steerable nose wheel?

[Bob Cotsford]

a cruciform hole will appear in the hedge at ground level!

This is the question, how well will it steer with a fixed noseleg?

[chris basson]

Just guessing but either not at all or like an oil tanker...

Apply in writing, in triplicate, preferably while still on the downwind leg if you want to taxi back to the pits!

CB

[Martyn K]

Hi Bob

I was told that providing the model is actually moving at a reasonable speed, keeping lots of up elevator (like a taildragger) will allow it to steer on rudder alone. Not much use for taxying though. If it is *really* cracking along, then it is pretty nearly weightless anyway and there should be lots of rudder authority.

Martyn

[Bob Cotsford]

yes, I've noticed that once a little speed builds up the nosewheel is barely kissing the grass, spending most of it's time bouncing from the top of one tuft to the next.

It'll be interesting to see if it will steer at low speed with a good dose of up and a burst of power, I suspect that will be down to how short the grass is at the time.

Edited By Bob Cotsford on 02/05/2013 13:08:17