"flyncatfish" wrote

I have a russian Yak 52
and the starting, brake, and flap systems are all pneumatic. It's nice
not to have to worry about whether you battery will crank in the
morning.

How does the air make the brakes work? Please don't say very well! ba-doomp

More specifically, do they have a spring that puts the brake on, with the air
pressure pushing the brakes off, or more like a truck brake, with one air source
pushing the brakes off, and another pushing the brakes back on?

I had always thought aircraft parking brakes were kinda' dumb. It would make
sense to have a system like cars, with a cable putting the parking brake on,
plus the advantage of having an emergency brake, but there goes the weight issue
again, I guess. No wonder that airplanes have to use wheel chocks.
--
Jim in NC