I previously noted that one of the advantages of the tail draggers was they could still taxi if they lost their brakes. We flew our RV-6A to St. Augustine and Panama City, Florida this past week and we had a few problems. One was I wore the brakes down on the right main gear to the extent that the piston (puck) came out of the housing enough to leak the fluid out of that side. When I got in the plane to leave Panama City yesterday I saw fluid on the ground but attributed it to fuel venting. I got in to start up and the right pedal flopped forward with no resistance. I pumped it and it seemed like I got some pressure so I started the engine. With over 4,500 hours of flight time I thought I could handle with pumping finese. I had to give it some power to overcome inertia and move the plane then I had to turn left coming out of the spot. Well, it turned to the left alright, all the way around like a pinwheel. My friend J that lives there thought I was demonstrating how maneuverable the plane is. DON'T DO WHAT I DID - THE PLANE IS TOTALLY UNCONTROLABLE ON THE GROUND WITHOUT BOTH BRAKES! I know, anybody that can think ought to know that but it is amazing what you can make yourself think you can do in spite of the physics involved. When that nose gear pivots into a turn there is no way to stop the turn except to shut down, get out and put it where you want it or worse (heaven forbid) hit something.
Bob Axsom
Bob Axsom
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