Need a set of control wheels

[Tom G]

Hello Everyone, its been a long time since i've posted on the forum. My '46 BC12D is in for annual now. My mechanic discovered that both control yokes are cracked where they mount onto the shaft coming out of the panel. I was wondering if anyone has a set that they would like to sell. The wheels in my plane are the originals and they are what I believe to be the basic type. I would love to get the fancier ones that can have the Taylorcraft call out over the hub. In any case i would love to know what might be available. Thanks very much!! Tom Gilbertson. N95716

[Hank Jarrett]

I have to wonder how many of the cast wheels are cracked , fixed with Bondo and painted. I have a few of the cast late wheels and ALL are cracked under the paint! The pretzel wheels with the center ball seem to stand up well, even though the ball falls apart. The round wheels were only on the really early planes and are hard for current size humans to get their legs under. The REALLY fancy Banjo wheels are REALLY hard to find and expensive to restore.

[Tom G]

Thanks for the info Hank, i believe that Univair has some new version of the pretzel wheel that I have always liked. They sell the center caps too. I think I'll go that route. They say that they will need to be reamed and are set up for a 7/8 inch shaft. I measured mine and i came up with a 3/4 inch but maybe i was off. In any case it looks like they will work and i really do like the looks of them. You have a great collection there. I don't think i ever saw the banjo style.

[3Dreaming]

Thanks for the info Hank, i believe that Univair has some new version of the pretzel wheel that I have always liked. They sell the center caps too. I think I'll go that route. They say that they will need to be reamed and are set up for a 7/8 inch shaft. I measured mine and i came up with a 3/4 inch but maybe i was off. In any case it looks like they will work and i really do like the looks of them. You have a great collection there. I don't think i ever saw the banjo style.

For the Univair wheels you will need to make a bushing to reduce the size for the 3/4" shaft. The shaft should also be Nickle plated and polished for smooth operation of the controls.

[astjp2]

For the Univair wheels you will need to make a bushing to reduce the size for the 3/4" shaft. The shaft should also be Nickle plated and polished for smooth operation of the controls.

my 41 originals were copper nickle chrome, you could see it in the bare spots that wore through.

[Hank Jarrett]

I have a few cores for the pretzel wheels if the new price is steep (haven't checked them). They would require cutting off the heat shrink, blast, prime and paint then adding back new heat shrink. I did mine for the 45 and they came out looking like factory new with the replacement center ball.

[Tom G]

Thanks for all the info guys. I received the wheels from Univair and I can see that I would need a bushing or some way to shim up the shaft to make the wheels fit properly. My other question is how do they actually mount to the shaft? They are nothing like my original wheels that simply had a bolt go through the shaft. I see nowhere on these where you could do anything like that. There are six screws with nuts on them holding together the center section which is split in half. I'm not sure how you make a positive connection between the wheel and the shaft it mounts on. The price on the wheels wasn't too bad it came to a total of $204 for the wheels and the center hubs with the Taylorcraft script on them. I definitely like the way these would look better than my originals but it looks like a bigger project than i figured!

[3Dreaming]

I have not done a set, so take this with a grain of salt. I think you will need to make a bushing for the shaft to fit the wheel, then it will need to be drilled and reamed with a taper reamer and a taper pin installed. Someone who has had one apart should chime in.