Certified XCub 215hp rudder cable noise and friction

[thalimi]

Hi everyone,

We have been flying our new XCub now for almost a year and have noticed an unusual noise and friction when we are taxing the plane at slow speeds. When we have full rudder deflection from left to right, or right to left, we hear a clicking noise and feel friction as though the rudder cable or spring is getting caught on something.

Has anyone else noticed this?

Thank you,
Tim

[aeroaddict]

I'm not familiar with the XCub, but it might be the tailwheel unlocking. Just a guess.

[Andy]

We have been flying our new XCub now for almost a year and have noticed an unusual noise and friction when we are taxing the plane at slow speeds. When we have full rudder deflection from left to right, or right to left, we hear a clicking noise and feel friction as though the rudder cable or spring is getting caught on something.

I had the same issue on the first few flights in my FX-3. I squawked it and CC greased the tail wheel. That made it better and, after a bit of use, the "catching" went away. Should be easy to check if it is tail wheel or cables by raising and supporting the tail and operating pedals stop to stop.

[Pete D]

Hi Tim,

Sometimes the XCub brake line can make a little noise where it passes through the grommet in the floor from the master cylinders on the front side of the aft rudder pedals. You can try resting your hand on the hose while moving the rudder pedals one at a time, see if you can feel/change the sound. (goes without saying, try this while parked and engine off)

The other possible place is the plastic fairleads that support the cable in several places can move slightly when the cable moves through them. There are several down the cable as it routes pretty close to a straight line down the fuselage. The aft avionics bay cover can be easily removed to take a look at the aft 1/3 of the cable length. one technique to quite the fairleads is to put a small dab of silicone between the fairlead and the tube it goes in, will quiet down the noise they make. If that is all it is, not a safety issue though.

[thalimi]

Thank you all for the replies, I will try the suggestions and report back if anything helps resolve the issue.