Nosewheel steering too weak?

[JimC]

I love the steering on my 500B. I can track right down the centerline (ok, within a foot), whip it around in tight circles, and generally make the plane dance on the ground.

BUT

I just had some recurrent training with a ex-Central pilot, and she told me that my steering was too weak. One symptom is that if I stop with the nosewheel turned, I have to use diff power to get it straightened. She says I should be able to do it with the pedals alone. The other is that she says the gap between engaging steering and engaging brakes as the tops of the pedals move was too narrow and the steering should be engaging earlier.

It's the only Commander I've ever taxied, so I don't know what's normal and what's not. A few years ago I demonstrated single engine taxi and turns in both directions, but maybe it's gone through a slow decline that I haven't noticed over the years.

So two questions:

A) Is my steering weak?

B) If it is, what should I look at first? The steering cylinder itself, or should I be looking at the rigging and seals of of the steering bypass cylinder? Page 6-12 in the MM (test of bypass valve seals) seems like a pretty easy place to start, but I don't know if something else is more likely.

[donv]

There is a mod that Aero Air had, called the "soft taxi" mod which reduced the flow to the steering to make it less sensitive. Is it possible that your airplane has that mod?

[JimC]

I didn't notice it in my logbook review, but I'll look again. What would I look for on the aircraft itself?

[donv]

Actually, now that I am thinking about it, it wasn't the steering, it reduced the braking pressure and was a little pressure reducer on the hydraulic line on the gear. Sorry for the misdirection!

I remember the Shrikes that I flew having very sensitive steering (and brakes) compared to the Turbo Commanders. I know on a Turbo Commander that the steering is not powerful enough to move the nosewheel while the aircraft is stopped, but I'm not sure if that was also true of the Shrikes or not.

[JimC]

I'll probably do the test in the MM next time I have a chance, and not pursue it much further. It's the plane I learned on and it works for me, so it falls into the "ain't broke/ don't fix it" category until proven otherwise.

My brakes are definitely sensitive and I'm chasing a gremlin now where the force required for equal braking is slightly unequal from one side to the other. We've done so much fiddling and caliper swapping that now I have a minor PIO of the nose from left to right on braking, so I'm going to stop messing with it and just fly and relearn my plane. I have no trouble keeping the centerline between the mains, but I get a 2-3 foot side to side jerk of the nose as I first come on the brakes that I didn't used to have.

[Popeye]

IMHO.....making too much out of nothing. It all depends how steep the turn is and speed. Just make sure whe you do those turns you carry enough speed to get out easy. If you get the heel not staright, applying even power is just easier that one engine only. Remmeber, its steering assited .......

[Bruce Byerly]

Actually, now that I am thinking about it, it wasn't the steering, it reduced the braking pressure and was a little pressure reducer on the hydraulic line on the gear. Sorry for the misdirection!

I remember the Shrikes that I flew having very sensitive steering (and brakes) compared to the Turbo Commanders. I know on a Turbo Commander that the steering is not powerful enough to move the nosewheel while the aircraft is stopped, but I'm not sure if that was also true of the Shrikes or not.

Spot on - no Commander is scrubbing the nose tire at a standstill unless it’s on ice.