Page 26 - Volume 13 Number 10

The clip (left) and shown in the slots (right). The clip is critical as it keeps tension on the bungee spring. It’s important to check the clip and slots as they can break due to wear and tear.
breaks apart, the clip falls out, the bungee spring snaps open and busts through the housing. If this happens, tension is lost and your nose steering goes out the window.
You don’t want a failure like that, and you really don’t want one on landing. You might not be as fortunate as the 200 I mentioned, so please add this simple check to your preflight checklist.
Stiff Steering is Not Normal
I often tell a story of a King Air pilot that grappled with really stiff nose steering. He’d been told repeatedly that all King Airs have stiff steering and you just have to learn to live with it (not true!); but his was really bad and he was desperate for a solution. By the time he got to my shop, he had spent over $4,000 in parts and labor on his nose steering with zero improvement.
I taxied his airplane and the steering was horrible indeed. But then I jacked the nose to take the load off and found the rudder pedals moving freely. So, the problem wasn’t his nose steering, it was his nose gear – it needed grease.
You’ve got to have grease between the nose gear upper casting and the shock absorber tube; but know that grease will never get in there if the nose gear is on the ground. This really stiff nose steering was remedied immediately by properly greasing the strut, with the nose jacked. The pilot was ecstatic. He almost ran his King Air into the dirt median the first time he taxied out but got the hang of it and was amazed at the difference.
Once in a while I find a King Air that steers easily in one direction but gets stiff going the other way. Typically, this is because the bungee spring is dry. Again, grease is the answer.
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If nose steering stiffness continues after proper lubrication, I would check the gap between the nose gear upper casting and the shock strut. This is a last resort. Per the maintenance manual, the maximum allowable gap is .015 inches, and in all my experience with King Airs, I’ve found that .015 inches gives the best performance. Tighter settings make the nose steering too stiff, in my opinion.
If, following a gear overhaul, your nose steering is suddenly too stiff, I’d have the clearance between the nose upper casting and the strut double-checked to see if it is too tight. But while you’re at it, make sure that strut was greased with the aircraft on jacks.
In summary, if your nose gear steering is stiff, most likely your nose steering bungee is doing its job but your nose strut needs grease. Your nose gear steering should be smooth and easy. Just be sure to take a look in your nose wheel well from time to time. Check the clip in the bungee housing.
Happy taxiing in your King Air. KA
Dean Benedict is a certified A&P, AI with nearly 45 years’ experience in King Air maintenance. He’s the founder and former owner of Honest Air Inc., a “King Air maintenance boutique” (with some Dukes and Barons on the side). Now, with BeechMedic LLC, Dean consults with King Air owners and operators on all things King Air related: maintenance, troubleshooting, pre-buys, etc. He can be reached at dr.dean@beechmedic.com or 702-773-1800.
OCTOBER 2019