Bent or Straight
- Thread starter Eddie Foy
- Start date
Doesn't the 'bent arm' 3400 align better with the early 180s where the t/w steering cables come out the tailcone and the 'straight arm' 3400 align better with the later 180s where the cables come out the belly? Years ago Tailwheel Tom helped me with my 3400 assembly and we swapped out a bent arm for a straight arm and I am happy with it.
hotrod180
FRIEND
Port Townsend, WA
I kinda recall that the straight-armed steering arms are a bit longer than the upturned versions?
Gives a little less throw, which isn't helpful.
Besides giving more travel, I also seem to recall that the upturned ones are a little beefier.
Never seen an 53-55 model with other than the upturned arms, but have seen both on 56-and-up models.
FWIW when it comes to Cubs etc, my experience is that in most applications the 3200 works better with the upturned arms.
Gives a little less throw, which isn't helpful.
Besides giving more travel, I also seem to recall that the upturned ones are a little beefier.
Never seen an 53-55 model with other than the upturned arms, but have seen both on 56-and-up models.
FWIW when it comes to Cubs etc, my experience is that in most applications the 3200 works better with the upturned arms.
... the above is also what folks at Airframes Alaska shared with me.
Have there been issues with the straight arms in “rough” conditions, e.g. off airport ops?
J
mvivion
SPONSOR
Bozeman,MT
It depends on the angle of pull. In many installations, the steering arm on the tailwheel is lower than the steering input, where the steering cables are attached at the fuselage. In that situation, the steering chains are pulling UP on the steering arms any time steering input is applied. Hit a bump while the tailwheel is deflected and that puts an upward pull on the steering arm.
Worst case scenario, your tailwheel shimmies, in which case, a lot of force is applied upward on those steering arms. Look at a lot of “standard” steering arms, and you’ll see a lot of them bent upward.
The 3214T or “bent” steering arm improves the pull angle of the steering chains, so it’s a more straight pull. In addition, the arms are MUCH stouter, and therefore next to impossible to bend. Finally, the bent arm connectors are just a bit wider, so steering authority is improved a bit.
I put a bent arm on my 170 which had terrible steering geometry, and it made a lot of difference.
I just ordered a kit from Airframes AK to install on my new ride.
MTV
Thanks for this info, Mike. My new baby bushwheel shimmies terribly on pattern cut concrete (as found across the northern states!). I am trying to avoid the hard surfaces until back in AK, but it’s near impossible when trying to stop at particular places.
My 180J has the cables coming out below the tailcone, so it seemed when ordering that new tailwheel as if I should replace the old, straight-armed 3400 with yet another straight arm. Now I’m wondering.
Anyway, I’ll have Mark at Black Sheep/Lake Hood take a look at it next week when he puts on the new Airframes AK stinger.
J
