Brakes - Maintenance practices
The brakes on Top Cubs, and of course other cubs utilizing the same braking system, can be finicky. I found this out a couple years ago on our maiden flight bringing our Top Cub home. We stopped by a small municipal airport to fuel up and noticed the right break was a little weak. The local mechanic offered to help by "topping off" the right brake system. Not knowing anything about the maintenance practices on my new Cub, assumed this mechanic knew what he was doing as he pulled the fill plug on the master cylinder, attached a pump oil can and small tube to the bleeder at the caliper, and proceeded to "top off" the system. The breaks felt great as we rolled away, but after a short hold at the runway entrance, we simply spun on the right wheel as I inched the throttle up. Looking down at the right wheel it was obvious the brake was locked as the smoke poured off the rotor. A few minutes later, after draining only a few drops of fluid from the right brake system we were back in business and away. I was real happy this happened before take off, and not on landing at my destination!
I know there are places out there on the web where you can learn the little tricks of filling, and chasing lining wear with a few drops of fluid here and there, but why not elaborate on the best practices in the AMM?
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That would be great Eric. I know you can never detail everthing, but little things that could lead to misshaps should be brought to attention so our AMM get's better and better over the years!
Originally Posted by John Hodges
