Seminole Drivers

[willbav8r]

Okay, you've read comments on the stall......I'm guessing you use up a lot of runway awaiting the stall warning horn? So, now you are hopefully going to cease full stall landings in twins or even high performance singles (but it is a must for a 3 pt in a tailwheel).....

I try to cross the threshold at about 80, power back and aim to touch at 75 - 70. With full flaps the nose likes to slam unless you can be quick to "roll it on" - this also means no high angle of attack. No flaps or 25 deg usually gives smoother "de-rotation" and saves that bad design on the nosewheel - cracking the bolt on the overcenter arm which leads to nosewheel collapse.......make sure your pre-flight is a good one! I found it once and felt good all week.

 

[DrewBlows]

Okay, you've read comments on the stall......I'm guessing you use up a lot of runway awaiting the stall warning horn? So, now you are hopefully going to cease full stall landings in twins or even high performance singles (but it is a must for a 3 pt in a tailwheel).....

I try to cross the threshold at about 80, power back and aim to touch at 75 - 70. With full flaps the nose likes to slam unless you can be quick to "roll it on" - this also means no high angle of attack. No flaps or 25 deg usually gives smoother "de-rotation" and saves that bad design on the nosewheel - cracking the bolt on the overcenter arm which leads to nosewheel collapse.......make sure your pre-flight is a good one! I found it once and felt good all week.

Which bolt is it exactly, and where would it be cracked?

 

[willbav8r]

As you pre-flight the plane, get down and dirty to inspect the nosewheel. I say this, because to look up into the wheel well you need to really crouch down. Now, when looking for good oleo extension, doors etc if you look from either side, you will see the overcenter arm (I think that is the correct terminology) which raises and lowers the nosewheel. You will see two pivot points on this assembly, which are connected using a bolt (fastener). It is these bolts that are obviously subjected to landing and static loads. An AD was issued some time ago to replace the original bolt. However, wear and tear still causes failures, so it is something I look for every pre-flight.

Found it where one side looked fine (bolt head) but the other side was missing entirely! Could almost guarantee it to fail on the next one or two landings, ensuring prop strikes etc. Suppose it may be a prevalent (bad) design in other retractables?

 

[DrewBlows]

Thanks for the info. I'll pass it on to my students. I still haven't had a chance to try any landing techniques, as the weather in Michigan sucks so I'm not flying. I'm thinking that the CG is probably the biggest issue. Most of our operations are with an instructor and a student which puts the CG at the very front of the envelope. In fact the last time I flew the Seminole someone had topped off the tanks which put us right on the front line of the CG envelope. I only did one landing, but the results were predictable. The mains touched down softly and despite my best efforts the nosewheel settled with a thud. Oh well. I guess the forward CG is good for those VMC demos. If it keeps my students from putting the plane into a spin I guess I'll take the thud when the nosewheel hits.