Sticking yoke

soxinbox wrote:
When doing steep turns, I noticed that there is a little resistance to pitch
changes on the yoke. It seems it binds a little in the bearing through the
panel. Does anyone have a suggestion for the type of lubricant I could use
on this? Do they make anything for this purpose?


What sort of airplane is it? Some of the older 172s had a
problem with a bending/breaking panel brace that would let the panel
flex enough that the control shaft bearing would start snagging and
restricting elevator control.
172s also have a problem with cracking forward horizontal stab
spars (caused mostly by people pushing down on the stab to turn the
airplane on the ground when parking or whatever) and I have seen the
spar broken clear through so that only the skin was keeping things
straight. Under higher loadings (such as a steep turn) the stab will
flex downward, misaligning the elevator hinges and making the elevator
stiffer. A really bad sign. Might be a good idea to get it checked, if
it's a 172. Look around the big lightening hole in the stab's forward
spar.
Sticky controls also result when pulley bearings dry out and
the pulley stops (or resists) turning.

Dan