wsmalley

My Feedback: (6)

I've got a pneumatic brake wheel, about 2 1/2" diam. The air valve is apparently an on/off type where the lever moves at right angles to the valve-rather than the normal 'Robart' type. The drum of course uses 'O' rings. Don't know the make. When you 'engage' the brake valve, it locks up the wheel, and when you turn the air valve off, it stays locked up. Should it immediately release the wheel? I wanted to use it on a nose wheel on a plane I'm building. Do you need a proportional valve or is there something wrong with the drum, 'O' ring( it's a new ring).

Carlos Murphy

My Feedback: (72)

Sounds like somethings wrong with your brake valve.
The brake system should work proportionally just like your car.
I have a set from BVM and I use his "Smooth Stop" brake valve which makes all the difference.
The surface in the drum that the O-ring rubs on is knurled and the drum should be packed with "Vasoline" to prevent excesive ware of the O-ring and brake lock-up. Vasoline should ooos out of the drum when you push it onto the hub, just wipe off the excess.

I don't know how well a nose wheel brake will work.
It just may cause the plane to tip over like a tricycle.

wsmalley

My Feedback: (6)

Thanks for your response. I got frustrated trying to figure out why it wouldn't release so figured I'd try to determine why. The 'O' ring seemed so tight in the 'U' of the brake, I put in my lathe and scraped a few thousandths off the thicker side. While not proportional, I can 'bump' the valve and it will now expand and release. Since I didn,t know the brand, I took the old rings to a hydraulic shop and matched them the best I could-don't know if they used some odd ball size. I did,also, drown them in vaseline. I agree the nose wheel idea is not great. I had more in mind using it to run up the DF engine and release. Their too small for the mains. Bill S.