8/25/2008
I noticed my tires were almost worn out again. I decided to tackle the problem on multiple fronts. First, I know I drag the brakes because it is almost impossible not to with the way the geometry is with the pedals. You can't put your foot on a pedal without hitting the brake. I fabricated extensions for the bottom out of 1/8" aluminum. I also made doublers so the the fronts would be flush with the front of the pedals. After riveting I covered the extensions with Home Depot non-skid.
I then leveled the plane and made a very accurate measurement of the alignment. The left wheel was 1.8 deg toe in and the right one about 0.2 deg toe in. I in stalled a 1.5 deg shim on the left wheel to bring it in to 0.3 toe in. Not perfect but a lot better than before.
I took it up for a test flight. The difference was very noticeable. I no longer feel a forward surge on take-off. The tires do not chirp nearly as much on landing.
