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Here in the UK, I remove my floorboards every annual to check for FOD, lost pens, pencils, screws and detritus and general condition down there. But I do so mostly to inspect the condition of my brake cables which, as most post-war cable-operated braked Taylorcraft owners know, go around some very small steel pulleys.
Last year (March 2020) my brake cables were fine.
This year (March 2021) look what I find! The starboard cable has been quite badly frayed during a year that the aircraft did less than 40 hours. This was a ground-loop waiting to happen.
To be fair, the component time was about 1000 hours. I will now add a 500-hour replacement strategy to my maintenance program.
So check your brake cables! (mine are 1/8 diameter).
An incidental story: Many years ago, a Taylorcraft owner here in the UK had a 3/32 brake cable failure and the gentle ground-loop resulted in no damage. He replaced the failed cable and the very next flight the other one gave way, resulting in a crash through a hedge and a lot of repairs. Moral: If one has failed, the other one won't be far behind, so replace both! I have done so.
Rob
Last year (March 2020) my brake cables were fine.
This year (March 2021) look what I find! The starboard cable has been quite badly frayed during a year that the aircraft did less than 40 hours. This was a ground-loop waiting to happen.
To be fair, the component time was about 1000 hours. I will now add a 500-hour replacement strategy to my maintenance program.
So check your brake cables! (mine are 1/8 diameter).
An incidental story: Many years ago, a Taylorcraft owner here in the UK had a 3/32 brake cable failure and the gentle ground-loop resulted in no damage. He replaced the failed cable and the very next flight the other one gave way, resulting in a crash through a hedge and a lot of repairs. Moral: If one has failed, the other one won't be far behind, so replace both! I have done so.
Rob
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