Light Aircraft Association

Hi,

As part of my permit checks I needed to replaced both tyres. Having reassembled the port wheel I wanted to check that the wheel bearings were properly packed and that there was no movement between the wheel and the axle. So with the wheel jacked off the ground, I held it with both hands and gently applied a twisting motion to check that there was no play. I discovered that while there was no play between the wheel and the axle, the whole bottom part of the leg did move by maybe a degree from side to side. Part of the movement was within the scissor arm and the rest just seemed to be play within the leg. I made sure all the leg bolts were tight and that all 3 grease nipples were full. I checked the other leg and found it was the exactly same (I had not worked on that wheel at that point).

Is this sort of movement normal or should I investigate further? I will obviously be discussing this with my inspector, but I just wanted to get some initial feed back in case a little movement perfectly normal and within limits or it is something that needs to be urgently investigated.

Which Jodel? The description you give does not match the models that I know. Slightly I may add as I am new to bent wings.

Ian Melville wrote:Which Jodel? The description you give does not match the models that I know. Slightly I may add as I am new to bent wings.

Jodel D120A (Paris Nice)

OK. those are a bit different to mine. Have you oleos instead of rubber blocks?

If it wasn't for the scissors the whole wheel could rotate 360 degrees on the leg (had to add that last bit or some joker would say they are supposed to do that ).
Not qualified to say if what you have is acceptable, your inspector should be able to advise. Thin washers within the scissor parts can reduce the play.

Hi Tim, you are fortunate in having the round Jodel legs as they are the easiest type to overhaul, parts like worn bushes and sliding blocks will be easy to make, or have made, if new parts are hard to locate; unlike the parts in the more typical aerofoil shaped legs. You should try to shim the scissors to keep any radial play to a minimum, and do keep an eye on them to make sure they are secure and have no cracks, you certainly don't want one of them to break or become detached and allow the wheel to swivel out of alignment.
Rgds, Brian