I had been asked to ferry a Grumman Tiger to have the annual inspection done. As I was taxiing out, I noticed that there was some interaction between the rudder and the ailerons because when I "S" turned the aircraft the ailerons moved in the opposite direction...
I performed the pre-flight, everything checked out fine. I lined up and took off then as I turned crosswind the left wing suddenly felt heavy. I double checked the fuel tank guages and they were both full. As I rolled into a downwind departure the heavy wing lightened up.
I thought about it for a moment and decided that I should make a precautionary landing to make sure. As I turned base the wing suddenly became "heavy" once more. On final approach the aileron pressure eased up again. I landed without incident and climbed out to make a more through airframe inspection. It took me half an hour to find it....
Can any other pilots figure out what the problem was?
2007-02-12 21:44:07 · 6 answers · asked by Gordon B 4 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Aircraft
Auto-pilot on?
A student pilot at our airport snagged an airplane for that very reason.
He turned on the auto pilot accidently when they throttled up.
It was coupled to the HSI and he went to bank and it was heavy to turn as he stated much the same as you. No mention was made about the ground taxi checks.
2007-02-13 10:07:27 · answer #1 · answered by dyke_in_heat 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A loose rudder cable and/or pulley was binding on an aileron cable?
I haven't flown a Tiger for 10 years...but there's something about the nose gear / rudder spring I'm trying to remember as well!
2007-02-12 22:39:09 · answer #2 · answered by 4999_Basque 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Never flown a tiger.
-Does it have a mechanical mixer coordinating the rudder with the ailerons? (I don't think it does)
-Was the aileron impeeded from moving down (binding, FOD, etc).
- Broken baffle in the left wing fuel tank?
2007-02-13 00:07:09 · answer #3 · answered by Drewpie 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds to me like one of your fuel gauges was faulty and you only had partial fuel in what, the left wing? Assuming standard left-hand pattern, you rolled left, the fuel in the partially full tank moved to the outside, and the change in moment caused a "heavy" feeling. One man's guess.
2007-02-13 09:27:23 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I can't think of any explanation other than those already suggested. However you should try posting this question on www.pprune.org/forums. The Flight Testing forum in particular may give you the answer, lots of pilot types on there.
2007-02-14 00:50:04 · answer #5 · answered by Woody 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bent control rod?
2007-02-13 05:59:12 · answer #6 · answered by joemammysbigguns 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋