Just started flying my new RV-10 and had a very disconcerting experience today. First flight was excellent and as I was in engine break in and first flight mode I flew it without the wheel pants. Everything was good with the ball perfectly centred throughout the flight. Today, after installing the wheel pants, I went up again. Everything was good on climbout and it accelerated nicely almost 15 knots faster than without the pants. I was happy because the ball stayed nicely centred and all seemed well.
About 20 minutes into the flight I hit a bit of turbulence and then after a bit of bouncing and yawing I found I needed a fair bit of left rudder to keep the ball centred. Feet off the pedals the ball was now about halfway out of centre. Throughout the rest of the flight with all power settings and airspeeds I needed left rudder to keep the ball centred.
I figured I had either lost a wheel pant or the nosewheel had somehow cocked itself off centre and induced some yaw on the airplane. After I landed all fairings were present and accounted for and if the nose had cocked off centre it would have straightened itself on landing so there was no way to know there.
Has anyone experienced this? How do you correct it? More tension on the big nut or less? How do you fix it in the air? I'm assuming some aggressive rudder to straighten the fairing out.
Or is it something other than that?
About 20 minutes into the flight I hit a bit of turbulence and then after a bit of bouncing and yawing I found I needed a fair bit of left rudder to keep the ball centred. Feet off the pedals the ball was now about halfway out of centre. Throughout the rest of the flight with all power settings and airspeeds I needed left rudder to keep the ball centred.
I figured I had either lost a wheel pant or the nosewheel had somehow cocked itself off centre and induced some yaw on the airplane. After I landed all fairings were present and accounted for and if the nose had cocked off centre it would have straightened itself on landing so there was no way to know there.
Has anyone experienced this? How do you correct it? More tension on the big nut or less? How do you fix it in the air? I'm assuming some aggressive rudder to straighten the fairing out.
Or is it something other than that?