Brakes, the continuing saga

[cgruby]

I've been so thrilled to actually have brakes on my airplane, I've sort of overlooked some of the idiosyncrasies that still prevail.

1. The angle of the brake pedal is such that anytime you are pushing rudder, you are applying brake at the same time.

2. The right brake is still somewhat less effective than the left making for unbalanced control during braking.

These seem minor, but on one occasion when applying a little brake to slow down, the plane veered sharply to the left, I was unable to stop it with the right brake due to it's ineffectiveness, my first ground loop ever in 63 years of flying.

I've ordered the new style brake pedals from KF, they should be here before long. That should allow me to use the rudder without applying brakes.

I still need to find why that right side is so less effective. I never was completely satisfied with the firmness of the pedal after bleeding. I need to bleed them again, with vigor!!

More later.

[Dusty]

Early kf brake geometry is not the best,to have brakes and full rudder at the same time is next to impossible.
I have my pedals set slightly forward so I don't end up riding the brakes or having to slip my feet up to brake.
With full rudder the brake moves forward
If the master cylinders are mounted to the floor instead of the rudder tubes
They would move back( as in rans aircraft)
I don't know how the later kf is set up but I will be changing mine at some stage after having a near identical experience last weekend .
I didn't ground loop,but due more braking on the left ended up on the left shoulder or the runway
I usually avoid blacktop but had no option.

[cgruby]

All my landings, to date, have been on blacktop. Those big tires are quite grabby and I have to be really careful. This little ground loop was at very slow speed, but nevertheless, uncontrollable. I whizzed right past a couple of Vassi lights, which could have made a mess had I run into them.

I think the problem with the right brake may still be a little trapped air in the system.

[Peteohms]

I had poor braking on the right side for a long time. On the way to Oshkosh a few years ago, my right brake failed while landing at the half way point from central Texas. Fortunately I didn't lose control. I decided I could live with one brake so I finished my round trip. Turned out to be the o ring on the brake cylinder on the wheel. New 25 cent o ring and problem solved.

[cgruby]

I had poor braking on the right side for a long time. On the way to Oshkosh a few years ago, my right brake failed...

That may be worth looking at. I have added a new cylinder to that wheel, but also have the old cylinder on there too. It might be worth the effort to re-O-ring both of the old cylinders, however, there are no leaks from either.

[cgruby]

I bled the right side with vigor!!!, with no noticeable benefit. I received my new brake pedals from Kit Fox, only to find they are backwards from mine. Mine are "C" type where the later ones are "E" type. Mine the open part of the "C" is to the left, the new one's are open to the right, plus the master cylinder mounting point is entirely different. I'm going to have to fabricate my own "E" type to get this to work. I sure spent a lot of money for some bent tubing.

Flying the airplane with mismatched brakes is really dangerous. You can just about guarantee a ground loop to the left.

The next plan is to measure the pressure on the right side to see if I have 450 psi. If I do, then I should look for something mechanical in the wheel.

Later,

[Dusty]

There has been some discussion on pedals in this or possibly another "similar" site. E pedals have been mentioned as being opposite?
If this is the case would kf swap them over,worth a shot!

[t j]

Just thinking out loud, did you receive pedals for the passenger side instead of pilot side?

[Slyfox]

what kind of lines do you have

[cgruby]

Just thinking out loud, did you receive pedals for the passenger side instead of pilot side?

I have a picture that one of the other builders posted of a later model under construction, that shows these type of pedals on the pilot's side. I can't see the passenger's side in the photo to see if they are different. I've already decided to modify my pedals to add the lower part of the "E". I'll send these back to KF and maybe they'll give me a credit.