jsherblon

jsherblon

Well Known Member
I was talking to someone who is thinking about adapting anti-lock brakes from a motorcycle for experimental aircraft use. He's looking for feedback on the idea.

I told him I would mention it in a VAF post to get some feedback.
 
Might make nose draggers a bit hard to steer -------:confused:

If it could be done with a cut in/out speed, then it seems more feasible.
 
Beringer was displaying a sort of ABS system at Oshkosh. It looked to me like it was more of a pressure limiter. It was entirely hydraulic. Beautifully made.
 
In most cases, in a RV unless you are on grass or snow, first you will have to have breaks that can lock the wheel before you install the anti lock
 
Weight, weight, and even more weight. Then there is that complexity thing. You will have to add two solenoids of some type to the brake system to relieve the pressure of the locked wheel, a sensor on each wheel, and a computer to compare the sensor speeds to each other and trigger the sensor to unlock the offending wheel. Then the program also needs to be set to let you lock the wheels at low speeds.

A little known fact about ABS auto brakes, in heavy snow and gravel, you can stop the car quicker (shorter distance) if you can lock the brakes.

Funny story time. I live on a fairly steep city street and a number of years ago some lady in a non-descript GM product tried to stop on the hill. There was about 1" of snow on the ground and she could get the car slowed down to about 2 or 3 MPH and then you could see one wheel slide. At that time, the ABS would kick in and unlock all the brakes. It was like watching an accident in slow motion. I can only assume that GM has fixed that problem since then.
 
Anti-Skid

Although it would be an interesting engineering project, there really isn't much of a need for anti-lock (anti-skid in aviation terms) on something like an RV. I have flown lots of airliners with anti-skid. When the main gear is 80 feet behind you and there are multiple sets of brakes, anti-skid is essential. In the average RV you can hear and feel the brake action and tell easily what the tires are doing. As Tinman noted, the most demanding use the brakes on my '8' see is kicking the tailwheel out for the turn in front of the hangar.

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAA FAAST Team Member
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
jsherblon said:
I was talking to someone who is thinking about adapting anti-lock brakes from a motorcycle for experimental aircraft use. He's looking for feedback on the idea...
Click to expand...

Just curious - What problem is he expecting to solve? Brakes on a light aircraft are rarely needed for anything other than taxi. If you need more than that, you are well on your way to a bad day.
 
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