Piper Tomahawk troubles

One thing to look at for your original problem with the landing light would be to look at what the voltage of the overall system does.

If it drops significantly because of the additional load, that could explain the instrument reading; and it could be caused by the regulator/alternator/battery system in general.

Some aircraft (I remember the DA20 Katana) just do not have enough alternator capacity to sustain all the lights on, so it might be an unavoidable “feature”…

I suppose I could ask them to take a look at our plane, but I think they are busy enough with all the bigger planes.bq. Quote

Ask them out of their work hours – they’re still licensed. Someone might do it as a homer. Someone local will know how and who to approach – possibly NOT by a formal recorded-delivery letter to the senior management.

[quote fixed up – the word “quote” is meant to disappear when you type or paste text into the box :) ]

But they may not have licence coverage on type or liability insurance for ‘homers’….

Anybody can do troubleshooting – by inspection, voltage / continuity measurement etc. It’s only fixing stuff that needs defined privileges.

I remember the landing light on the PA38 I was training in. One of the two wires had come out of the connector and was potentially brushing against some engine parts. I found this only because the preflight on a PA38 includes looking under the engine cover. When I said to the instructor that this is an obvious fire hazard (in case of a fuel leak) he said "don’t worry about this – it’s only a landing light, so don’t switch it on. Eventually I changed schools…

an obvious fire hazard (in case of a fuel leak) he said "don’t worry about this – it’s only a landing light, so don’t switch it on

Or safer, use the landing light to your heart’s content, just don’t turn the fuel on if the plane is that poorly maintained!

For the original directional control concerns; yes, you could have nose wheel steering issues. If an examination of the nose wheel is found to be airworthy, and the problem remains, get a helper, and try the following:

Find four 18" square pieces of flat sheet metal or plexiglass (perspex). Anything will do, as long as they are flat. Apply light grease to make two sandwiches with them. Roll the main wheels on to the sandwich plates on very flat and level ground. This will allow the main wheels to find their own happy place. with the helper, measure the tow in/out. This will be most easily done by measuring to the tread lines. Helper with a keep eye needed for the other end of the measuring tape. I don’t have a Tomahawk manual, so I don’t know if Piper provides desired toe in/toe out dimensions. In the absence of any info, zero, or slightly toe in is probably desirable, but refer to “data” for the plane if available.

Also check the squareness of the wheel to a line stretched between the tires (in case one wheel is toe in, and the other the same amount toe out – so the measure was zero). Also measure the camber of the wheel to the ground. At least they should be symmetrical left and right. These checks should turn up a bend gear leg, and as Peter says, do not require any maintainer approval – just do it. record your results, then consult with a maintainer if needed.

I have measured a number of Cessnas this way (it’s a Cessna procedure) and found the need for shims, which are a Cessna part for the “slab gear” Cessnas. The Tomahawk, light any tricycle plane, should not require undue attention to taxi straight in symmetrical conditions.

QuoteBut they may not have licence coverage on type or liability insurance for ‘homers’
There are other EASA aircraft in Orkney – ask their owners.

I’m sure there are other ‘EASA aircraft’ in Orkney.

But an EASA Part-66 engineer’s licence does not automatically allow one to release any EASA aircraft to service following maintenance – it depends on the limitations of the individual’s licence.

I do have a little bit of knowledge in this department….

God I miss the tomahawk. My formative years as an instructor were spent in that plane.

Main landing gear bolt failure.

When I was involved with the maintenance of a flying club fleet of PA38’s we following a number of inspections as a result of one landing gear failure instigated a policy of replacing at annual check the three bolts that secure the main landing gear leg to the wing.

We found a number of these bent and some with fatigue cracks, if I owned a PA38 with the pulling to one side problem it would not fly until those bolts had at least been pulled out and inspected if not replaced.