Stiff right rudder pedal

[Animosity2k]

So I've been flying a lot of tailwheel lately and not sure if it's just because I'm hopping back in the CT now that it feels this way or if it's something wrong. My right rudder seems to take some serious push to get the plane to taxi easily. IE: I'm trying to track the taxi lines and despite how hard I push it I can't turn hard enough to track them anymore. This was never an issue and now I'm constantly overshooting them. Is there an adjustment that needs to be tweaked with over time? Anything I can look for? Perhaps it's fine. It feels completely normal in the air, it's just when moving on the ground. 

[Roger Lee]

First thing is go taxi again and take your feet off the pedals and see if the plane wants to vear left or right. If it does this may be the only adjustment needed and it's easy to do. before you make any other adjustments try this first and let us know. Then we can come to a better solution.

p.s.

The rudder pedals are supposed to be lubed at every annual. I know of very few that ever do this. Take some INox spray lube or something else and squirt it in the joints where the rudder pedal shafts go into the lower instrument panel plastic channel and into the joint on the outside party of the pedal where it goes through the plastic mount. Do both sides.

[FlyingMonkey]

To clarify:  You push hard and the pedal doesn't move enough to turn the nosewheel, or you push the pedal to the stops and the airplane just doesn't turn?  Two very different behaviors.

[Animosity2k]

14 hours ago, Roger Lee said:

First thing is go taxi again and take your feet off the pedals and see if the plane wants to vear left or right. If it does this may be the only adjustment needed and it's easy to do. before you make any other adjustments try this first and let us know. Then we can come to a better solution.

p.s.

The rudder pedals are supposed to be lubed at every annual. I know of very few that ever do this. Take some INox spray lube or something else and squirt it in the joints where the rudder pedal shafts go into the lower instrument panel plastic channel and into the joint on the outside party of the pedal where it goes through the plastic mount. Do both sides.

I was playing with this the other day. With both feet off I was getting a veer to the left. 

[Animosity2k]

2 hours ago, FlyingMonkey said:

To clarify:  You push hard and the pedal doesn't move enough to turn the nosewheel, or you push the pedal to the stops and the airplane just doesn't turn?  Two very different behaviors.

I push the pedal all the way down and am not happy with the turning radius. It seems to be lessened from what it was when I originally got the plane. 

[GrassStripFlyBoy]

20 minutes ago, Animosity2k said:

I push the pedal all the way down and am not happy with the turning radius. It seems to be lessened from what it was when I originally got the plane.

A pointer on this, might not address your concern, but I have to turn sharp to 180 on my narrow strip.  I don't like having to press real hard with one foot. so have learned to take the other foot and hook my toes under the other pedal that is coming towards you.  Then you can use a push/pull with both feet and get full movement without driving a bunch of force up your one leg and back into the seat.

[Animosity2k]

12 minutes ago, GrassStripFlyBoy said:

A pointer on this, might not address your concern, but I have to turn sharp to 180 on my narrow strip.  I don't like having to press real hard with one foot. so have learned to take the other foot and hook my toes under the other pedal that is coming towards you.  Then you can use a push/pull with both feet and get full movement without driving a bunch of force up your one leg and back into the seat.

Is there a particular reason outside of making it easier? It doesn't seem to change your turn radius or anything does it?

[GrassStripFlyBoy]

Ensures you input full travel without having to stand on one leg, that's about it.

[Tom Baker]

Does your airplane have the Frankenstein bolts for the tow bar? It could be possible something go bent in the steering. Also the it is possible that the cable came off the rudder trim mechanism.

[FlyingMonkey]

Also, didn't some people have issues with bending rudder pedals when pushing hard on the pedals when not moving?  If the pedal is bent downward you're not going to get full steering travel.

[Animosity2k]

2 hours ago, Tom Baker said:

Does your airplane have the Frankenstein bolts for the tow bar? It could be possible something go bent in the steering. Also the it is possible that the cable came off the rudder trim mechanism.

It does have bolts on the front wheel I believe are for a tow bar. I've never used them so can't imagine they are bent as I didn't ever feel this before. I checked the wires that are visually exposed on the back of the rudder and they are intact and connected.

[Animosity2k]

1 hour ago, FlyingMonkey said:

Also, didn't some people have issues with bending rudder pedals when pushing hard on the pedals when not moving?  If the pedal is bent downward you're not going to get full steering travel.

It doesn't appear to be bent at all. 

[Tip]

A bent motor mount will affect the steering.

[Anticept]

CTs turn easier when going slow. The faster you taxi, the harder they are to turn.

When doing the "pull to left/right" test, you need to 180 and test again to verify. If it pulls in the other direction at the same rate, then everything's aligned... You just have wind pushing the tail or a sloped taxiway.

It also is probably time for you to grease the nosewheel parts; some CTs get stiff with the left pedal, but more often i see right pedal getting stiff. Don't know why.

Try taxiing from the other seat and see if it's any different. Could be a worn mounting block, I've seen that too.

Also, with it sitting with nosewheel centered, take a look at the pedals on both sides. They should be centered, and if not, at least the same amount of deflection.

[Animosity2k]

11 hours ago, Anticept said:

CTs turn easier when going slow. The faster you taxi, the harder they are to turn.

When doing the "pull to left/right" test, you need to 180 and test again to verify. If it pulls in the other direction at the same rate, then everything's aligned... You just have wind pushing the tail or a sloped taxiway.

It also is probably time for you to grease the nosewheel parts; some CTs get stiff with the left pedal, but more often i see right pedal getting stiff. Don't know why.

Try taxiing from the other seat and see if it's any different. Could be a worn mounting block, I've seen that too.

Also, with it sitting with nosewheel centered, take a look at the pedals on both sides. They should be centered, and if not, at least the same amount of deflection.

I will try all these things this weekend. I noticed the one time I was pushing hard on the right rudder to make the turn I almost felt a "click" for a second in it, like it was pressing against something and finally had enough give to pass it. It didn't change the characteristics anymore, I just noticed it once. 

[Animosity2k]

On 6/3/2021 at 9:51 PM, Anticept said:

CTs turn easier when going slow. The faster you taxi, the harder they are to turn.

When doing the "pull to left/right" test, you need to 180 and test again to verify. If it pulls in the other direction at the same rate, then everything's aligned... You just have wind pushing the tail or a sloped taxiway.

It also is probably time for you to grease the nosewheel parts; some CTs get stiff with the left pedal, but more often i see right pedal getting stiff. Don't know why.

Try taxiing from the other seat and see if it's any different. Could be a worn mounting block, I've seen that too.

Also, with it sitting with nosewheel centered, take a look at the pedals on both sides. They should be centered, and if not, at least the same amount of deflection.

I went ahead and tried to taxi the other direction and get the same pull to the left (same direction). 

[Roger Lee]

Sounds like you just need to adjust the steering head rods where they connect at the top of the front suspension. Call me and I'll tell you how. It's very easy.